The story
Partial calque of Cantonese 芙蓉蛋 (fu⁴ jung⁴ daan⁶⁻², “lotus egg”). From 蛋 (literally “egg”) + 芙蓉 (fu⁴ jung⁴, literally “lotus”)
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
egg foo young
Today it means: An egg-based dish containing vegetables and often bits of meat, originating in Guangdong and common in Chinese-American cuisine. Full definition →