The Easiest Tomato and Egg Stir-fry 番茄炒蛋
Is there a dish that truly reminds you of your childhood?
A few come to my mind, but 番茄炒蛋, or Tomato and Egg Stir-fry is up there, as one of the most nostalgic. Ready in 10 minutes, and with just a handful of ingredients, most likely in your pantry or fridge. I can see why my parents made this as a quick and easy meal so often!
And because the are no intense flavours, it is such a great dish for young kids. As a kid, I was a really picky eater (I know, how could that be!?) and I loved this dish. I would pick out the eggs to eat because I didn’t love the texture of tomato, but the folds within the eggs would catch the umami gravy that the cooked down tomatoes would create.
As an adult, I have such appreciation for this humble dish. Did you know that tomatoes hold glutamate? That’s the key to natural occurring umami. By keeping in the seeds and the skin, and cooking down the whole chunks into the sauce, this simple dish is actually so savoury and comforting to eat over a bowl of rice.
This recipe is definitely my version…because it has butter! You’d never see my mum make this dish with butter. BUT, I love the combination of butter and scrambled eggs. Everything else is traditional though, I promise :)
The 4 Ingredients.
Tomatoes
Onions
Soy
*Butter* and oil
Spring onion, for garnish
Simplicity at it’s BEST!
Here are some TIPS to maximise the flavour from your 4 ingredients.
Try and choose ripe tomatoes. They are sweeter and juicer, so they result in a more flavourful sauce at the end. But you can always add a pinch or two of sugar if you have tart tomatoes that are out of season.
Choose a high quality soy. When making dishes that have only a few flavourings or spices, make sure you choose one that you love the flavour of. I like Taiwanese Black Bean Soy Sauce for it’s extra umami. It doesn’t use wheat in it’s fermentation process, so that would also make this naturally gluten free!
Butter. Brown it first in the pan. Let the eggs soak up all the buttery, nutty flavour. This is how you add depth.
Optional ingredients
Sugar - as mentioned previously, if you’re making this in the depths of winter, and tomatoes are tart or do not have much flavour, add in a pinch or two of sugar to encourage it a bit. I have family friends who add in tomato sauce (ketchup) as their sweetener to not take away from the tomato flavour.
Sesame oil - to cook with at the beginning OR a light drizzle at the end over the finished stir-fry. Adds a nutty aroma to the dish as you bring it to the table.
Spring Onion whites - cut spring onion whites into 5cm pieces and add to the onions when you fry them. You’ll probably want to garnish with some chopping spring onions anyways, so might as well use the whites!
Garlic - Mince 1 or 2 cloves of garlic to saute in with the onions for more flavour.
Can you make this is large batches for big families or meal prep?
ABSOLUTELY.
I like a bigger egg:tomato ratio, but most recipes have a 1:1 ratio, which makes is very easy to ‘up’ this recipe. So for a family, of 6, 6 eggs, 6 tomatoes. Family of 10, 10 eggs, 10 tomatoes. If I were making a big batch, I’d go a few more eggs. So adjust it to suit your families’ taste!
The Easiest Tomato and Egg Stir-fry (番茄炒蛋)
Ingredients
Instructions
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and onions and set aside.
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl and whisk very well. You do not need to season the eggs, just let fresh eggs to all of the work for you. Make sure to whisk until slightly frothy for a light scramble texture.
- Heat a fry pan or wok on medium heat and add in the butter and oil. Shimmy the pan around until the butter is fully melted and started to bubble.
- Pour in the well-whisked eggs and shimmy the pan around until the egg covers the whole pan.
- As the edges start to set, use a wooden spoon or spatula to pull the edges into the center. Repeat this until the eggs have formed ribbons on the surface and is about 90% cooked through. Remove the eggs back into the bowl.
- Add the chopped onions into the preheated pan. You can add a splash more oil if needed. Saute until the onions until translucent, then add in the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes start to soften.
- Deglace with soy sauce, making sure to scrape up any caramelised bit at the bottom of the pan. Pour in the 1/4 cup of water and turn the heat down low. Simmer for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes start to dissolve into the water to create a gravy. You can add more water if it is evaporating too quickly.
- Once you are happy with the thickness of the sauce, add the eggs back in and gently break up the eggs, keeping them in large chunks. Fold the sauce over the eggs to make sure all of the eggs are seasoned and turn off the heat.
- Drizzle with sesame oil, chopped spring onions and white pepper.
- Enjoy over a bowl of rice!
Notes
If you love garlic, you can chop 1-2 cloves of garlic and add it in with the onions in step 6.
If you like your egg and tomato stir-fry really saucy, mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch in with 1/4 cup of additional water and mix to create a slurry. Add this in when you add the water/stock and simmer until it thickens before adding in the egg.
