Chinese Tomato and Egg Stir Fry
A Chinese tomato egg stir fry recipe with a sweet & savory sauce made with fresh tomatoes and fluffy scrambled eggs - this is the ultimate Asian comfort food.
Servings: 4 Servings
Calories: 375kcal
Ingredients
- 3-4 large tomatoes
- 1 onion (sliced)
- 1-2 stalks green onions
- 3-4 large slices ginger
Scrambled Eggs
- 4-5 eggs
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 tablespoon oil
- ½ teaspoon salt (or 2 teaspoons of soy sauce)
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
Tomato Sauce
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 3 tablespoons honey (or sugar)
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine (Optional)
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
Preparation
- Wash the tomatoes and chop them into bite sized chunks and set aside
- Slice 1 onion and 3-4 large slices ginger and set aside
- Cut the green onions 2 inches lengthwise and then cut them again lengthwise thinly and set aside
- In a small bowl, mix together ½ cup tomato paste, 3 tablespoons honey, ¼ cup white vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine, and ¼ cup water. Set aside for later.
Scrambling the Eggs
- In another bowl, whisk together the 4-5 eggs, ¼ teaspoon white pepper, 1 tablespoon oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and½ teaspoon sesame oil. Set aside for later.
- Set the stove to medium and add a little bit oil into a frying pan and wait until it is slightly smoking
- When the pan is hot, add in the egg mixture. The eggs will start to bubble on the edges and start to set. Once egg starts to set around the edges, use a utensil to push the 4 corners into the center, then tilt the the pan slightly so the remaining raw egg runs to the edge of the pan and push the corners into the center again. Do this a few times until it is cooked but try not to overcook the eggs.
- You won't get broken up pieces of scrambled egg with this method but instead a big mound of fluffy cooked eggs. Break up the egg into bit sized chunks and set it aside on a plate for later
Putting It Together
- Set the stove to medium heat, and add a bit more oil into the pan
- Once the oil is hot, add in the ginger and toast it a bit so that it turns brown. This way the ginger flavor comes out into the oil. (approximately 1-2 minutes)
- When the ginger is brown, add in the onions and cook it until it is soft and translucent.
- Once the onions are soft, add in the chopped tomatoes and tomato sauce mix and cook it for 3-4 minutes (or 5-6 minutes if you like it saucier). (Be careful if the oil is hot, the tomatoes might sizzle and splash a bit when you add them to the oil) You want to cook the tomatoes slightly so they are soft and some of the tomato juices are released into the sauce. Try not to overcook the tomatoes too much so there are still chunks of it to eat.
- Do a taste test. Tomatoes have different acidity depending on what type you use. If the sauce is too sour, add an additional ½ teaspoon of honey/sugar and taste it again. Adjust it until it is to your preferred sweetness.
- (Optional) If you want a thicker sauce, mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of cold water in a small bowl and mix well. Slowly pour half the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and keep stirring until the sauce thickens. If you want it thicker, add the rest of the cornstarch slurry.
- Once it is done, turn off the heat and add the scrambled eggs and green onions and mix together with the sauce until the eggs are well coated with the sauce.
- Remove the ginger slices before serving
- Enjoy with a bowl of rice!
Notes
- QUICKER VERSION: If you are pressed for time, you can alter this recipe to be more traditional and use ketchup. If you use ketchup, remove the tomato paste, white vinegar and honey from the recipe and replace it with ½ cup of ketchup instead.
- My rule of thumb for a good tomato to egg ratios is: For every 1 large tomato you use, use one egg.
- Different tomatoes have different tartness. If your tomatoes are very sour, do a taste test and add ½ teaspoon of honey/sugar at a time and adjust it until it is to the right sweetness for you.
- Do not substitute black pepper for white pepper. Leave it out if you don't have it. It is a completely different flavor.
- Double up the 'Tomato Sauce' to make more sauce if you like this dish saucier! Alternatively, if you like it less saucy then cut the amount of the 'Tomato Sauce' section by half.
- If you want a thicker sauce, in a small bowl, mix 2 teaspoons of cornstarch with 2 teaspoons of cold water and mix well. Slowly pour half the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and keep stirring until the sauce thickens, if you want it thicker, add the rest of the cornstarch slurry.
What Kind of Tomatoes to Use
- Standard Red Tomatoes (Hot House or Tomatoes on the Vine) - These tomatoes are the easiest to find at the grocery store and are great for this dish because of their 50/50 seed to flesh ratio which gives the sauce a good flavor as well as a good texture. You can't go wrong with this tomato!
- Heirloom Tomatoes - This is my favorite tomato to use for tomato eggs but I know it may be hard to find if you don't grow them yourself. Beef Steak tomatoes are a good substitute for it for heirloom tomatoes as well. This tomato is flavorful, juicy, and delicious for this tomato egg stir fry!
- Baby Tomatoes (or Grape Tomatoes) - I personally love growing baby tomatoes because I love to snack on them but they can be a hit or miss for this tomato egg recipe. I love using baby tomatoes in this dish (as you can see in my photos) because they are the most flavorful tomato on this list. The only downside is you will need to use a lot of baby tomatoes which means you will get a lot of skin in the final product.
- Roma Tomatoes - This would actually be my last choice of tomatoes for tomato egg stir fry. I find this type of tomato too fleshy, not very juicy and depending on how fresh they are they can have a grainy texture as well. Since it also doesn't contain a lot of seeds I find it also doesn't have a lot of flavors as well - I find the most flavorful tomatoes are the ones with good seed-to-flesh ratio.
