simple tomato and egg stir-fry
I was introduced to this dish about 20 years ago when I was traveling through Asia. I ended up spending some months in China—and this was one of the many wonderful discoveries of that time period. It’s a simple dish, but it’s something I come back to again and again. There are several variations—as with all recipes, each family or household has its own way of preparing it. The recipe I’m sharing is one I observed in a kitchen, prepared by the chef who made our lunch each day—after a few weeks of eating this dish, I asked if I could watch him make it—and he agreed. However, I’ve also put my own personal stamp on it—changed it, in that instead of fresh grated garlic, I include garlic powder (for convenience) and garnish it with basil—this is optional, but I think it really makes the dish stand out even more. It’s like adding coolness to an umami bomb.
Eating this dish takes me back to that time in the early 2000s and reminds me of all the wonderful people, and of course foods, I encountered along the way.
Ingredients
For 1 large serving, 2 small servings
2 vine tomatoes
4 large eggs
1 ½ tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of fish sauce (I like using the Three Crabs brand)
1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
¼ teaspoon of sugar
¼ teaspoon of garlic powder
Basil (non-European variety—I used Thai basil, for garnish)
Salt, to taste
Note: The tomatoes and eggs need to be cooked separately, you combine them only at the end before serving.
Directions:
Slice the tomatoes into eighths; there should be 16 slices total
In a separate bowl, mix the 4 eggs, set aside
In a frying pan, on medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil; then add the tomatoes
Note: tomatoes and their juice, when it hits a hot frying pan—there will be some inevitable oil jumping—I know this makes some people nervous, so, I’m letting you know ahead of time
Let the tomatoes cook for about 2 and half minutes, until they soften a bit
Lower the pan to medium heat, then add in the following order: fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and garlic powder
Cook/stir the ingredients around for another 2-3 minutes
Turn off the heat, set aside
When I cook the tomatoes, I like them to have this look/consistency. Definitely softened but you still see their shape
In a separate pan, heat up the remaining vegetable oil on medium heat
Add the eggs you mixed earlier, sprinkle with salt to taste
Cook, move the eggs like you’re making scrambled eggs—however, the texture/look you’re going for isn’t the nugget shape that scrambled eggs typically have. Move the eggs around less than you normally would. I’ve included a picture below:
Combine/mix your cooked eggs with the tomatoes (in my picture I added the tomatoes on top—not typical, but sometimes I like to eat it that way)
Garnish with basil, chopped chili peppers, sriracha or togarashi for some heat
Serve with a hot bowl of rice and be happy :)
