It’s another sunny March day here in New York. I’ve found myself wanting to spend more time working by the windows instead of working in the kitchen, which is in the interior of my apartment. So in celebration of an early spring, here is a light yet delicious Chinese comfort food dish from the archives that takes about 5 minutes on the stove.
Within China, there are wildly divergent ways of cooking almost any dish. Take kung pao chicken, for example. The Sichuanese are wild about their version with smoky dried chilis and crunchy peanuts, while folks from Guizhou province love theirs with fresh chilis and absolutely no peanuts, and Beijingers are just fine with their mild kung pao dishes. Another example is pan-fried dumplings, whose thinned-skinned Cantonese and thicker northern varieties each have their fans. Or Cantonese wontons versus Sichuan wontons. The list goes on and on.
Stir-fried tomato and eggs, however, is remarkably the same all over China.
I grew up eating this dish and always associated it with weekend afternoons when my mom was too busy running errands to fix anything that took longer than 5 minutes. We also had it for weeknight dinners when my mom needed a 3rd or 4th course that didn’t take longer than 5 minutes. (See a pattern?) It was our version of spaghetti with tomato sauce, the no-brainer that’s also pure comfort food.
So I had always associated this dish with Cantonese cooking, until I moved to China and found that it tasted exactly the same at little diners and fast food stalls in Beijing and Shanghai. Fluffy eggs with lightly sweetened tomatoes, maybe another vegetable thrown it to fancy it up. It was oddly reassuring. Winter in Beijing may have been bone-chilling, smoggy, and depressing, but for the 10 minutes I was scarfing down stir-fried tomato and eggs at a local restaurant I may as well have been in the sub-tropical warmth of Hong Kong.
It’s really hard to resist such a quick dish of eggs and juicy tomatoes. I actually feel a little odd publishing this as a recipe, since it’s so easy you can just skim the directions and make it from memory. In addition to the title ingredients all you need is a little cooking oil, scallions, some sugar to sweeten up the tomatoes, and the usual salt and pepper. It’s also a cinch to divide or multiply the portions. I find that 2 to 3 eggs and 1 tomato per person is the perfect ratio and, paired with rice, makes quite the filling meal.
You can certainly have this for lunch or dinner, but I also have no qualms making a hearty post-yoga breakfast with the leftovers and some strong coffee.
- 5 to 6 large eggs, beaten
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 scallion, white and green parts chopped and separated
- 2 medium tomatoes, sliced into then wedges
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat until a drop of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the base. Pour in the eggs and cook undisturbed until a thin layer forms on the bottom, about 30 to 60 seconds, then scramble the eggs until they are cooked but still light and fluffy. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I find ¼ teaspoon salt is good to start.) Scoop out the eggs onto a plate and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the scallions whites and stir-fry until just aromatic, about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until the juices start to release and the tomatoes wedges are slightly softened but still intact. Sprinkle sugar over the tomatoes.
- Return the eggs to the pan and heat for another minute, stirring so they are well-mixed with the tomatoes. Transfer to a serving dish and add the scallion greens on top.
this dish is pure comfort to me.
I eat this a lot because it’s so easy and delicious.
Interesting to see how your method differs from those on this quora question.
Haha, I actually made this tonight before I saw this post. In my family, we always pair a little bit of ginger with tomatoes. I love how quick and easy it is.
This is one of my favourite Chinese dishes. I made it for a friend recently and she was quite impressed by it. I told her it was like the Chinese version of a bologna sandwich – or like you said, the five-minute addition to a meal that needs a little something extra. Yet it’s one of my first go-to Chinese recipes when I’m cooking.
I agree with Stephanie… This is one of the most comforting flavor combinations. Sometimes, I order Tomato Egg Beef over rice at various Chinese restaurants. I’m never disappointed.
I make this all the time at home when tomatoes are plentiful, and often eating out in China at the end of a meal when we’re still hungry.
I eat this once a week, mostly from diners near my office, and after a couple of years in China, I prefer the slightly soupier version of this dish. When I cook it at home, I cook the tomatoes first with a pinch of salt and pepper, to release the juices. I sometimes use fish sauce instead of salt, add ginger and scallions, then add the eggs and gently scramble them together. Add a few drops of sesame oil at the end before dishing them on top of rice.
I’ve also had friends cook it with a dash of ketchup while cooking the tomatoes.
Basically, it’s just a very malleable dish that takes on the personality of the cook! Really flexible and fun to cook.
I eat this when I don’t feel like eating anything, because it’s so simple. I even skip out on the scallions and pepper and sugar and it’s still delicious.
Eggs, tomato, salt, and oil. It’s almost insultingly simple. Also inexpensive, especially when tomatoes are in season. Nutritious too!
I don’t think I know of any recipe which is more nutritious, time-efficient and cost-effective to make than this, hands down.
Perhaps I’m defective, but I don’t find this dish all that easy. I LOVE it, and have read a zillion recipes and attempted to make it but it’s always super dry. I’m guessing, from reading the comments here and those on another forum the trick is simply to cook the tomatoes down first?
Any other advice? Thanks!
Kerry – I like using ripe tomatoes and leaving the seeds intact to give this dish the right amount of juiciness. For me, the juice would be in the tomatoes themselves, with a few tablespoons of excess liquid as a "sauce" for the rice. If you want a dish with much more sauce, chop up the tomatoes into smaller chunks and cook them down in a the pan before stir-frying the eggs (you will then have to wipe down the wok/pan or use another to correctly stir-frying the eggs). Hope that helps!
Don’t overcook the eggs. Take them off of the pan when they’re fully set but moist, a few runny spots is OK. Eggs continue to cook for a few minutes with the heat off.
It’s always been a favourite and I’ve been looking for a good reliable recipe for it. Because it’s a ‘simpler’ one I haven’t really come across very helpful versions. Ever since I made your Mapo Doufu I’ve been sold, your flavors are right on with childhood memories! Thank you!
I think the only significant diversion in the cooking of this dish is the use of sugar. From my understanding, people up north refuse to add it while people down south enjoy the sweetness that it brings. Personally, I never add sugar.
But nonetheless, it’s a delicious and comforting dish!
I grew up in Taiwan and whenever I see this dish on the dinner table, I know I’ll clear up at least one more bowl of rice!
I asked my mum to teach me this dish during break so I can make it in the states…
I’ve found that when there are no fresh tomatoes at home, the italian styled tomato from Fresh&Easy (cans) worked quite well :)
*The sugar def. brings out the sweet and savory of this dish, which I love.
My mum taught me another method where she cook the tomatoes in a bit of water; so they release their juice, add sugar and chicken granules, and after it bubbles, you can pour the beaten eggs over the tomato mixture and let it steam, then scramble them up. This way, the eggs won’t get dry from being overly stir fried. I’ve always used this method. hope it helps!
This is probably Chinese comfort food at its finest.
kerry, for a lazy man like, the way to cook it not dry is to put in some ketchup. Also try to cook the tomato well, meaning breaking it a bit to bring out all the juices.
Also for this dish our family always cook with a bit sesame oil, help wonders.
thanks for the tips! subsequent tries have been quite successful. i followed most of the advice here and even tried adding the tiniest bit of water and rice wine while cooking the tomatoes. there’s a restaurant here in Shanghai that does that and it was super tasty.
I agree with Ruby… this always means another bowl of rice for me!
When we traveled throughout western China, we were both strict vegetarians, and the tour group ordered it for us for each and every meal because we were the only meatless diners and “we needed our protein.” I must say that after two straight weeks of nothing but this dish, I finally screamed. But after a couple of months to recover, we were back to making this on a regular schedule and still love it. It *is* pure comfort food.
haha – i also blogged a recipe for this dish, and also thought it was so ridiculously simple that i was almost embarrassed to print it. but it’s delicious! and that wins out. my version is with noodles – mainly cause it cooks even faster than rice :)
http://beijinghaochi.com/tomato-and-egg-noodles-quickie-lunch/
Oh gosh your website is making me miss home! Especially this dish and the soy chicken.
I loved reading everyone’s comments on this post – this is so clearly a nostalgic favourite! When I moved to Shanghai as a foreigner and complete outsider 3 years ago I couldn’t understand what all the fuss was about with this dish. Now a little bit of China has gotten permanently under my skin, and I totally get it. It’s the dish every mother cooks, and everyone remembers their childhood as they eat it.
I cook it twice a week for my (very Australian) children, who adore it. Thanks for a great post!
A classic for sure!
I like to be really generous with my sugar, 2 heaped teaspoons, which I will throw over the tomatoes right after they go in the pan. Some of the sugar will quickly caramelize on the hot pan, which adds to the flavour.
I was so excited about this post. I grew up with this dish and we’ve been having it at least twice a week to use up all the tomatoes coming in from our garden. Defs a childhood favourite!
Definitely one of the most comforting dishes that I’ve eaten while growing up! I prefer the tomatoes to be cooked almost to a soft pulp/soup and skip the sugar. Add some chili oil, sesame seeds/sesame oil, a couple cloves of garlic, and a dash of white rice vinegar to take this dish to the next level.
Fiona – Thanks for sharing this comment! Yes, it’s such a simple dish but the nostalgia behind it is part of why people still cook it all the time.
Daniel – Caramelized sugar sounds like a great addition!
Lucy – A garden that supplies a glut of tomatoes for this and other dishes would be a dream!
David – It’s so great hearing about everyone’s favorite way to cook this. Sometimes I drizzle on some sesame oil too, or throw in some crushed red chili pepper.
This is going to be a fun recipe to make since it involves everything I love to eat!
Thanks for posting it and I’ll be making this later this week for me and my husband.
Grandma Kat
XOXOXOXOXO
I’ve never thought of adding sweetened tomatoes to eggs. Very cool recipe!
My dad used to make similar eggs & tomatoes growing up. He would sautee the tomatoes until they got soft, then added the eggs, salt and black pepper. His version is a bit messier than yours. Thanks for the reminder about this wonderful dish.
Great texture and so simple. The first time I cooked this, I found 2 twin eggs (cracked two eggs and four yolks came out)! And it was so tasty.
I made this for breakfast and it was the perfect way to start the day and so quick to prepare! It is definitely a new favorite.
This brings back so many memories… I’ve been eating this dish ever since I was a little kid!