Chinese tomato egg or 番茄炒蛋 is a classic homemade dish at every Chinese families dinner table. There are many ways you can call this, Chinese tomato and egg, Chinese stir-fry tomato and scrambled eggs, or 西红柿炒鸡蛋 (xi hong xi chao ji dan) if you want to go fancy. Regardless of what you want to call it, the dish is literally tomato and egg, and that is all you need to make this. Because every family makes stir fry tomato and egg, every family has its own version. My mother taught me my version, and I put my own healthier twist to it.
Chinese tomato and egg is a classic homemade dish in China because it is very simple and affordable to make. This is the first dish every Chinese parent teaches their kids to make growing up because it is that simple. After spending some time with my Middle Eastern husband's family, I soon learned that this dish is a big part of the Arabic world! So as you can imagine, we eat this dish quite a bit.
What Is Chinese Tomato Egg?
Chinese tomato egg dish is like its name, its tomato and egg stir-fried together. Because of its simplicity of preparation, it is popular among every family and beloved by every generation. This dish is not only super easy to cook, it is super affordable comfort food. You can make this dish as fast as 15 minutes and use as little as two ingredients. This is an especially very popular dish among college students.
Now, this dish has a long history. This dish's history can be dated back to 1920-1930s, where it was first sold at restaurants. It was inspired by Western influence when Western restaurants began to appear in China. Around the 1940s, the home-cooked style emerged.
5 Reasons why you will LOVE my recipe
- My Chinese tomato and egg recipe is super simple. You only need five ingredients!
- There is no added sugar in my recipe, whereas you will see other recipes often call for sugar.
- You can find all the ingredients to make this recipe right in your kitchen.
- My recipe is a healthier twist to the traditional version.
- My recipe is super easy to make, and you can make my recipe in under 15 minutes.
Chinese Tomato Egg 番茄炒蛋
Prep Time 5 Minutes
Cook Time 10 Minutes
Serving Size 2
Ingredients
3 Large Tomatoes/ 1 pint of cherry tomatoes Chopped into cubes
4 Eggs
5-6 Tablespoons Of Ketchup
Salt
Avocado Oil For Cooking
Directions
1. In a stir fry pan, heat a drizzle of avocado oil at medium heat. Just enough to make sure your egg does not stick to your pan.
2. In a bowl, beat your eggs with a pinch of salt. And then pour in your egg into the heated stir fry pan. Let it cook for 1 minute, then start scrambling. Once you have no more runny eggs, throw in your tomatoes and ketchup into the stir fry pan.
3. Stir the mixture together and another pinch of salt. Let the tomatoes cook down for 5-6 minutes, and you are looking for a tender tomato texture. At this point, you should taste the dish and make any final adjustment on salt or more ketchup.
If you like your tomato to be cooked down even more at this point, let it sit on the stove for a bit longer. Otherwise, the dish is done and ready to be served.
Tips
My Healthier Twist
How To Serve Chinese Tomato And Egg Dish
The traditional way and the most common way to serve Chinese tomato and egg is over rice. But you can also eat it with noodles and buns. As for my Middle Eastern family side, they often serve it with pita bread. So you can pretty much pair this dish with any carbs. For a healthier alternative, use quinoa, couscous, or lentil.
For the above dish, I used chlorophyll udon noodles. There are many different types of noodles you can use: udon, ramen, soba, or rice noodles.
