This 10-minutes tomato egg stir-fry is a staple Chinese comfort food that is popular in many Chinese household. The tomatoes bring sweet and tangy notes, whereas the scrambled egg is rich and savory. This is one of our go-to dishes on a busy weeknights that can be easily whipped up in only one pan!
What is Tomato Egg Stir-Fry (番茄炒蛋)
Tomato Egg Stir-Fry is undeniably one of the most popular dish in China and can be found in any Chinese household recipe book. Tomato is beloved national ingredient and is often paired with eggs, such as the tomato egg drop soup. What we love about this dish is that it uses a few basic ingredients: tomato, eggs, and seasonings. It's a very simple recipe, yet the sweet and tangy tomato, paired with the luscious scrambled eggs and savory sauce makes it a very satisfying and comforting dish.
Inspiration behind the dish
Coming from a Chinese household, we eat tomato egg stir-fry all the time. To us, it's the best quick, easy and cheap homey meal! It's not only so simple to make and requires only a few pantry-staple ingredient, but it's so delicious and nutritious. Every family has their own version of the dish, but they're all somewhat similar. We personally like it light in seasoning, just enough to enhance the natural flavors of our ingredients.
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Tips to make the best Tomato Egg Stir-Fry
- Mise en place is a step that is so helpful when making Chinese stir-fries, as these are dishes that are meant to cook quickly. For people that get overwhelmed when cooking, we highly suggest to start prepping all our ingredients before starting to cook.
- Peel the skin of your tomatoes if desired. The skin can be more difficult to eat and leaving it definitely changes the texture. We personally leave the skin as it contains nutrients and we hate to waste food. However, if you want to remove it, cut a small cross on the tomato and boil them for about 1 minute. It will make it easier to peel.
- Use ripe tomatoes for best flavor, as they will be sweeter.
- Use a large non-stick pan or wok to make cooking easier.
- Season each ingredients. It's important to season the scrambled eggs, and the tomato separately to optimize flavors.
- Use a rubber spatula to make your scrambled eggs, it will make them extra fluffy!
Ingredients
- Eggs are one the main ingredient. We used 4 large ones as we like our tomato and egg ratio to be somewhat equal.
- Salt and white pepper to season the eggs.
- Tomatoes preferably needs to be ripe. If they're not as ripe as desired, adjust with more sugar. We used 1 1/2 large tomato, because we like to have a good balance between the two main ingredients.
- Sugar is essential to this dish. Tomatoes are often eaten as a fruit and in our family, we always add sugar to tomatoes.
- Shaoxing wine will add an extra layer of flavor. It's slightly sweet and gives a nice flavor complexity to the dish. We use this one. It can also be replaced by Japanese mirin.
- Sesame oil for a nutty note.
- Salt to balance out the sugar in the tomatoes.
- Water so the tomatoes can cook and soften.
- Vegetable oil for cooking. If you don't have vegetable oil, any neutral oil will do.
- Green onions needs to be chopped and the white part separated as they will be cooked with the tomatoes to add a savory flavor. The green part is for topping.
Instructions
Prep the ingredients. Cut the tomatoes in 8 wedges, and finely chop the green onions. Set aside the white part of the green onions.
Whisk your eggs. In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs together. Then, add salt and pepper, and combine together.
Scramble eggs. Heat 2 tbsp of oil on medium heat, and pour egg mixture. With a rubber spatula, gently pull the eggs across the pan, creating egg curdles. Continue for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from heat and set aside the eggs on a plate. Clean off the plate with a paper towel.
Cook tomatoes. Heat 1 tbsp of oil on medium high heat on the same pan, then add the white part of the green onions. Let cook for 1 minute. After, add your tomatoes and let cook for 2 minutes. Next, add the shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt and water. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are starting to soften.
Assemble. Add the eggs to the pan and stir together to combine.
Serve! Sprinkle green onions on top and serve with white rice.
Tomato Egg Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 tsp salt for the eggs
- 1 pinch white pepper
- 1 1/2 large tomatoes
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp shaoxing wine
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/4 tsp salt for the tomato
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes in 8 wedges, and finely chop the green onions. Set aside the white part of the green onions.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs together. Add salt and pepper, and combine together.
- Heat 2 tbsp of oil on medium heat, and pour egg mixture. With a rubber spatula, gently pull the eggs across the pan, creating egg curdles. Continue for 2-3 minutes, or until cooked. Remove from heat and set aside the eggs on a plate. Clean off the plate with a paper towel.
- Heat 1 tbsp of oil on medium high heat on the same pan, then add the white part of the green onions. Let cook for 1 minute. After, add your tomatoes and let cook for 2 minutes. Next, add the shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, salt and water. Let cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the tomatoes are starting to soften.
- Add the eggs to the pan and stir together to combine.
- Sprinkle green onions on top and serve with white rice.
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