Tomato & Eggs (番茄炒蛋)

A juicy weeknight side dish that you can whip up in minutes!

flodesk gif
Prep Time
5 min
Total Time
15 min
Yields
4 servings
YouTube Tutorial

A Recipe by Daddy Lau

My dad's been cooking Chinese food for over 50 years - as a kid fending for himself in Guangzhou, as the head chef of his own restaurant, and as a loving father in our home.

Hopefully, by learning this recipe, you'll get to experience some of the delicious joy we felt growing up eating his food!

- Randy

This dish is a weeknight favorite! You won't believe how much flavor and texture you can create in 15 minutes. Honestly, maybe even 10 if you're super speedy.

Bonus: it requires the absolute bare minimum of ingredients. We don't even use garlic, or soy sauce, or oyster sauce. You can probably find every single one of these ingredients in any typical grocery store or supermarket. (If we can find a gas station that sells tomatoes... anyone up for a challenge?)

Check out a quick story summary of our recipe!

Ingredients

Weight: US
oz
g
Volume: US
cup
mL
Servings
4

Main Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb tomato
  • 4 egg
  • 5 slice ginger
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch (

    for slurry

    )
  • 4 tbsp water (

    for slurry

    )
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 3 tbsp water

Seasonings

  • 0.50 tsp salt (

    for eggs

    )
  • 0.50 tsp salt (

    for stir-fry

    )
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar (

    for stir-fry

    )
  • 2 tbsp ketchup (

    for stir-fry

    )

To peel or not to peel (the tomatoes)

For this dish, you can peel some or all of the tomatoes, or leave them unpeeled. There's not much of a difference in taste, but the texture will be different.

Peeled or partially peeled tomatoes will break down much faster, so you'll get a juicier, saucier dish. You also will have less, or no, tomato peels to chew on, if you or another eater prefers this dish completely soft.

Tomatoes with the peel still on will break down more slowly. You'll probably see more, and bigger, chunks of tomato. If you prefer more of a bite to your food, this may be the version for you.

Meet the helpers: ginger, sugar, and ketchup

If your tomato dishes taste a too little fresh-off-the-vine raw even when you cook them, you may want to spend some more time playing with these surprisingly impactful ingredients.

Daddy Lau uses ginger basically every time he makes something with tomatoes. They're forever partners! The ginger's warmth complements the tartness of the tomatoes.

Sugar is another ingredient that we often pair with tomatoes. The sweetness helps tone down the tartness, so if you have an especially sour tomato, try upping the sugar a bit.

Ketchup may be a funny thing to see in a Chinese recipe. It doesn't even get a spot in those condiment caddies on the table at Chinese restaurants! As a cooking ingredient, though, its acidity is great for brightening up the flavors of your food, and since it's tomato-based, it also amps up the tomato flavor for this dish.

Step 1: Peel tomato

This step is optional. You can leave the tomatoes unpeeled, peel just a few, or peel all of them.

Boil water, enough to later submerge the tomatoes. Shallowly score the tomatoes (1.5 lb) with an X, and place into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes, and let them sit for about 2 minutes, or until the peel starts to curl out from the X.

Carefully remove the tomatoes from the hot water, and use a knife to pull the peels away from the tomatoes. They should peel right off!

Cut tomato

Cut each tomato in half and remove the hard bit at the stem. Cut each half further into 4 wedges, ensuring that the core and seeds are still intact.

Step 2: Cut ginger

Cut 5 thin slices of ginger (5 slice), and then julienne into thin strips.

Step 3: Prepare eggs

Crack the eggs (4 ) into a large bowl. Season it with salt (0.50 tsp), and then beat vigorously until well combined. Get that air in there!

Step 4: Prepare cornstarch slurry

In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch (1 tbsp) and water (4 tbsp).

This slurry is important for thickening your sauce to the right consistency, and making it now before the stove is on means you won't be frantically throwing it together while your food overcooks!

Step 5: Cook eggs

Heat the pan on high heat. When it's hot, but not smoking, add oil and give the pan a swirl to coat. Pour in the beaten eggs, and push the eggs gently around with a spatula to scramble.

When the eggs are about 80% cooked through, which will take about 35 seconds, transfer them to a temporary plate or bowl. The bowl where you beat them originally will work great!

Step 6: Cook tomatoes

The pan should still be hot, so add a bit more oil, and then add the julienned ginger. Once the ginger is in, add the tomato wedges. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds, then add water (3 tbsp).

Season with salt (0.50 tsp) and brown sugar (2 tbsp). The sugar helps tone down the tartness of the tomatoes, so if your tomatoes are especially sour, you can add a bit more sugar to your liking. Keep the tomatoes cooking for about 2.5 minutes. If you're having a hard time keeping the tomatoes at a boil, you may need to cover it with a lid.

Give your cornstarch slurry a quick mix if it's settled, and then slowly pour it into the pan, mixing as you go.

Keep checking the consistency. Depending on how thick you like the sauce, you may not need all of the slurry.

Add eggs & ketchup

Add the eggs back into the pan. Stir it in and let cook for 50 seconds, then turn off the heat to keep it from overcooking. Add the ketchup (2 tbsp) and mix it in.

Step 7: Taste test & serve

Give it a taste (but be careful, it's hot!) and adjust the seasoning if needed. Scoop or pour it out into a serving dish, and enjoy!

FAQ

How do you get the eggs fluffy?

  • When you beat the eggs, do so vigorously so that you can incorporate lots of air into the mixture. Also, make sure to use enough oil when you stir-fry it.

What kind of tomatoes do you use?

  • Roma, beefsteak, on-the-vine... there are so many choices! Use whatever tomato you usually like to eat. Mommy and Daddy Lau recommend going for medium-sized tomatoes that aren't too unripe (too firm, and more tart), or too ripe (liable to totally disintegrate).
  • It's possible to make it with cherry tomatoes, but they don't break down well, the flavor may be much sharper, and you may end up spending a lot of time peeling.

How do you prevent the dish from getting soupy and watery?

  • The tomatoes will release more water the longer they sit in the heat and stew, so cook on high heat, so they don't get as much of a chance to release water. The eggs will also soak up some of the moisture.
  • Finally, don't forget the cornstarch slurry. That's the key to thickening up the juices and turning them into a luscious, gravy-like sauce.

What's the egg to tomato ratio?

  • In our recipe, we have 4 eggs to 1.5 lbs of tomato, and of course, you can scale it up or down. As Mommy and Daddy Lau always say, though, you can add more of whatever ingredient you like to eat more.
  • The underlying flavor won't change, but if you have more tomatoes, you'll probably end up with more moisture, more sauce, and more intensity in the flavor. If you have more eggs, the dish will probably taste slightly milder (and obviously, eggier).

Is tomato and scrambled eggs healthy? Can you make it with less oil?

  • Yes, it is healthy! You can make sure that you make the healthiest version possible by choosing good quality produce and cooking oil.
  • Reducing the amount of condiments and seasonings will affect the flavor of the dish, so we don't recommend that, but if you are used to using an alternative sweetener or ketchup, go ahead and try making the recipe with those!
  • If you cook with less oil than what we recommend, it'll affect how easily the eggs and tomato cook, and the final texture of the dish. The amount of oil is especially important to get a fluffy texture on the eggs. Rather than reducing the amount of oil, we recommend using a good quality oil.

Summary

Print Recipe
Made With Lau
madewithlau.com/recipes/tomato-and-eggs
Tomato & Eggs (番茄炒蛋)
A juicy weeknight side dish that you can whip up in minutes!
  • Prep Time: 5 min
  • Total Time: 15 min
  • Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

Main Ingredients

  • 1.5 lb tomato
  • 4 egg
  • 5 slice ginger
  • 1 tbsp cornstarch (

    for slurry

    )
  • 4 tbsp water (

    for slurry

    )
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 3 tbsp water

Seasonings

  • 0.50 tsp salt (

    for eggs

    )
  • 0.50 tsp salt (

    for stir-fry

    )
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar (

    for stir-fry

    )
  • 2 tbsp ketchup (

    for stir-fry

    )

Step 1 - Peel tomato

↑ Jump to details

This step is optional. You can leave the tomatoes unpeeled, peel just a few, or peel all of them.

Boil water, enough to later submerge the tomatoes. Shallowly score the tomatoes (1.5 lb) with an X, and place into a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the tomatoes, and let sit for about 2 minutes, or until the peel starts to curl out from the X.

Carefully remove the tomatoes from the hot water, and use a knife to pull the peels away from the tomatoes.

Cut tomato

Cut each tomato in half and remove the hard bit at the stem. Cut each half further into 4 wedges.

Step 2 - Cut ginger

↑ Jump to details

Cut 5 thin slices of ginger (5 slice), and then julienne into thin strips.

Step 3 - Prepare eggs

↑ Jump to details

Crack the eggs (4 ) into a large bowl. Season it with salt (0.50 tsp), and then beat vigorously until well combined.

Step 4 - Prepare cornstarch slurry

↑ Jump to details

In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch (1 tbsp) and water (4 tbsp).

Step 5 - Cook eggs

↑ Jump to details

Heat the pan on high heat. Add oil and give the pan a swirl to coat. Pour in the beaten eggs, and push the eggs gently around to scramble.

When the eggs are about 80% cooked through, transfer them to a temporary plate or bowl.

Step 6 - Cook tomatoes

↑ Jump to details

The pan should still be hot, so add a bit more oil. Add the julienned ginger, then the tomato wedges. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds, then add water (3 tbsp).

Season with salt (0.50 tsp) and brown sugar (2 tbsp). Keep the tomatoes cooking for about 2.5 minutes.

Give your cornstarch slurry a quick mix if it's settled, and then slowly pour it into the pan, mixing as you go. Depending on how thick you like the sauce, you may not need all of the slurry.

Add eggs & ketchup

Add the eggs back into the pan. Stir it in and let cook for 50 seconds, then turn off the heat. Add the ketchup (2 tbsp) and mix it in.

Step 7 - Taste test & serve

↑ Jump to details

Give it a taste (but be careful, it's hot!) and adjust the seasoning if needed. Scoop or pour it out into a serving dish, and enjoy!

Step 8 - Take pictures
Whip out your camera (1). Begin taking photos (1,000,000). Pick your favorites!
Step 9 - Share and tag us on Instagram @madewithlau #madewithlau!
Did you have fun making this recipe? We'd love to see & hear about it. (Especially my dad. He would be THRILLED!)

Enjoy!

We have many, many happy memories of enjoying this dish growing up.

Now, hopefully, you can create your own memories with this dish with your loved ones.

Also, I cordially invite you to eat with us and learn more about the dish, Chinese culture, and my family.

Cheers, and thanks for cooking with us!

Feel free to comment below if you have any questions about the recipe.