Chinese Stir-Fried Eggs and Tomatoes
Tomato Eggs is a humble Chinese recipe that is often served at home. Called 蕃茄炒蛋 or 西红柿炒蛋, tomatoes and eggs stir-fry are very popular in China and Taiwan.
To make the dish. you need a few basic ingredients such as eggs, tomatoes, salt, sugar, sesame oil and white pepper. It is basically scrambled eggs with tomatoes, stir-fried in a wok, with a red tomato sauce.
Tips on How to Cook Tomato Eggs?
As simple as it sounds, this recipe is hard to master. I have tasted many recipes that are not properly cooked; the dish is either too runny, watery, or simply overcooked.
- To make perfect scrambled eggs, you have to keep stirring the beaten egg in a back and forth motion, using a spatula. This will ensure that the eggs will form into nice and chunky pieces, just like the picture above.
- Timing is important as you don’t want runny eggs or overcooked eggs. As soon as the scrambled eggs are set, turn off the heat and set side.
- Use juicy and ripe tomatoes. I recommend Campari tomatoes as they are juicier, sweeter and less acidic.
- Combine the scrambled eggs and the red tomato sauce. Do not overcook.
This is a great Chinese recipe that you should add to your cooking repertoire. It’s very easy and quick to make, and absolutely wholesome, nutritious and perfect with rice or noodles. Below is my easy recipe, please try it out.
What Dishes to Serve with this Recipe?
This meal is best served with steamed rice. For a wholesome Chinese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
This Recipe Goes Well with:
Other Recipes You Might Like
Tomato Eggs Recipe
Tomato Eggs (西红柿炒蛋) is a homey Chinese dish of stir-fried eggs and tomatoes. This recipe is so easy and quick, takes only 15 mins to dinner table. It's delicious and goes well with rice or noodles.
Ingredients
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 scant teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing wine, optional
- 3 dashes ground white pepper
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 8 oz. fresh tomato, cut into thin wedges
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
-
Break the eggs into a bowl and use a pair of chopsticks or a fork to beat the eggs. Add salt, sesame oil, Shaoxing wine and ground white pepper. Beat and stir to mix well.
-
Heat up a wok with 2 tablespoons cooking oil. Add the egg mixture into the wok and use your spatula to spread the eggs. Keep stirring until the eggs form lumps. Gently break the lumps into smaller pieces. As soon as the eggs are cooked, dish out and set aside.
-
Clean the wok and heat it up again with 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add the tomato wedges into the wok and do a few quick stirs. Add the sugar and water into the tomatoes. Cover it with the lid and let cook for about 30 seconds. Transfer the eggs into the tomatoes, stir-fry for 30 seconds, dish out and serve immediately.
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Chrissie Baker
This dish seems so simple but just from the ingredients I know it tastes incredible! I really need to try it one day for a quick dish that incorporates some yummy flavours – I LOVE tomatoes!
Liz
I often eat eggs for lunch and this fabulous recipe would be a delicious way to shake up my routine!! I’d also be happy with it for a meatless dinner! So yummy!
Rasa Malaysia
Yeah, tomato egg is a homey dish.
Jennifer Ng
Love this dish and wonder why my mom never made it while I was growing up. Thanks for the recipe!
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks for trying the tomato eggs recipe.
Suanne
Made this for my husband and myself and was so impressed with how good it was. Just way better than the sum of it’s parts. It was the first time making it and the only advice I have is to base how much water you use on how liquid filled your tomatoes are. I had to cook off some excess fluid on one batch. This dish has become one that I crave. Thankyou for sharing it.
Rasa Malaysia
Thanks for trying my tomato eggs recipe. Yes some tamatoes are watery than the others.
Mark
I have traveled to China for years. This is always one of my favorite dishes on the table. This one and a sweet and spicy eggplant! Serve with an ice cold Tsingtao!
Kae
I had this as a side dish at a tea shop the other day and it was the first thing I finished eating. This looks EXACTLY like the version I had and I’m running out to the store right now to get fresh tomatoes to make it!
Immie
I just tried this recipe tonight, can’t believe what a difference it makes! I never got ‘taught’ how to cook it, i usually stir in eggs after tomatoes and it never taste that great. You’re a genius! Thank you so much
Doc
Hey, thanks for the guidance. I’ve always cooked mine too runny or too raw. Now I have a question, I usually use regular onions instead of green onions to cook this. Would it be best to cook it before putting tomatos in?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, you can caramelize the onion first before putting the tomatoes.
интересные статьи
Hi there, I found your website by the use of Google at the same time as looking for a similar matter, your website came up, it looks great. I have bookmarked it in my google bookmarks.
Jake
This looks great! I’m going to give it a try!
cdb
I loveeeeee this dish! The easiest, yet most heartwarming dish to eat.
A tip for those who’ve failed, make sure your oil is sizzling hot before pouring the egg. Then when it comes to cooking the tomatoes, medium-to-low heat is best. See my blog post for the step-by-step pics.
http://closetdomesticbunny.blogspot.com/2011/08/chinese-tomatoes-eggs.html
Alaina
Approximately how many tomatoes is 8 oz of tomatoes?
Brian
about 1.3 cups.
Miranda
Wow. Stumbled across this looking for recipes to make with tomatoes. Was absolutely delicious! Thank you for providing it.
Larry
Many thanks for this, it looks yummy! I keep my own chickens and am always looking for new ways to cook the eggs.
Lychee
Thank you for the recipe. i tried to make eggs and tomatoes , but they were not perfect. I guess I missed sesame oil. Perfect recipe
Jennifer
Love that you’re bringing all my mother’s comfort food recipes to English. Whenever I ask my mother to translate her Chinese recipes (which are all done by approximation) to English, it usually seems to translate poorly to me. I’m glad to finally have something to follow.
I’m curious if you’d made (or have recipes ) of creamy corn soup or omurice or zongzi or other sorts of comfort foods. =)
I’d also like to add if you ever publish a cooking book with the recipes off your website, I would buy it. =)
Kim
My Thai-Chinese grandmother used to make a tomato-egg dish like this all the time, but she would fry the tomatoes first, seasoned with oyster sauce, sugar and salt, until the water in the tomatoes had come out and evaporated, then crack an egg or two into it, and fold the tomato over it without much stirring for another minute or two. It would be another vegetable dish in a meal, but for me, it’s my favourite comfort food just served with rice :)
Rasa Malaysia
Kim – yes, correct, I also cook my tomato eggs like that sometimes, either way is fine. :)
Steve
Thank you for this recipe.
I have been looking for a good Eggs & Tomatoes recipe for a while (there are about a million variations available online) and this one is absolutely perfect, and even more perfect when served with rice & some soy sauce.
Rasa Malaysia
Thank you. Nice of you to leave a comment. I am glad you enjoyed the tomato eggs recipe. Hope there’s more here for your future references.
Ash
Love this recipe! Sometimes I put mushrooms in with mine as well. Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Ash – thin slices of mushrooms would go quite well with this recipe :)
foodieBear
Nice..! Just when I was about to look for a 蕃茄炒蛋 recipe, I stumble onto your page and found this :) Thanks for posting this. Great pic!
Hm.. by any chance you have watched the jap movie “Flavor of Happiness” ?
Rasa Malaysia
foodieBear – thanks for the compliments. I haven’t watched the movie yet? The title of it sounds like a show about cooking. Is it good?
foodieBear
Yes ! It’s a heart-warming story about cooking and 蕃茄炒蛋 was the main “character” among all the dishes that was featured :) I will recommend it to anyone who loves food to watch this movie.
Here is the link that comes with a trailer:
http://asianmediawiki.com/Flavor_of_Happiness
Enjoy!
Rasa Malaysia
Thank you for sharing the trailer link. Surely will keep an eye on this DVD next time I’m at the stores.
foodieBear
While you’re at it, maybe you can look out for this Japanese drama call “Osen” which is about traditional Japanese food ^o^ quite interesting~
Rasa Malaysia
OK, but I need to make sure there’s chinese or english subtitles. It’s not easy to find them here.
sugarlens
Thanks for the recipe! I have been cooking Tomato Eggs for ages, and I just found out that I’ve been doing it wrong all along. I would cook the tomato wedges first, and then add the eggs!
I cooked it exactly your way yesterday and it turned out, not only extra delicious, but very pretty too.
Rasa Malaysia
Sugarlens – thanks for trying my method. I am so glad you enjoyed.
Jill
love your site and 蕃茄炒蛋 is a family fave, I like to add ketchup to mine. so yummy
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Jill – yes, some people like adding ketchup. It’s all great, it’s a personal preference.
littlebearskitchen
I love your recipe version of tomato eggs! I will be making this again in the near future. I hope you don’t mind, but I linked to your site from mine. :)
Rasa Malaysia
Littlebear – glad that you love the recipe. :)
Dee
Just cooked this dish for dinner tonite using yr recipe. It turned out great and my family loves it! Thanks for sharing this recipe and looking forward to more of such delicious recipes on your blog. :-)
Rasa Malaysia
Dee – great that you and your family loves the eggs. So simple, cheap, and pack with nutrition.
pegs
Hey, thanks for sharing this! this is the kinda tomato eggs i was looking for all these while.
And guess what, i ran out of rice hence i ate it with macaroni, it was surprisingly good. :)
Rasa Malaysia
Pegs – macaroni…hmmm, sounds really interesting. Sure, why not?
Shavedicesundays
You make it look so beautiful! I like your blog and am wading through all of the good stuff you have on here. I’m glad you left out the ginger on this one. My MIL puts so much ginger in it that it just overwhelms it.
Rasa Malaysia
Shavedicesundays – thanks for the compliments. Ginger never crossed my mind on this one ;P
purplerose
very simple,quick & easy egg recipe..satisfying!served with steamy white rice :) nyummy!
Justine
where can i find your’s recipe in chinese languange?
becouse of my mother wanted.
Rasa Malaysia
Justine – I am planning one. It may take a while as I juggle around some projects.
Justine
Thanks a lot. Hope to get it soon
(.^^.)
May I sak about is there any recipe for vegetarian??
Rasa Malaysia
Justine – I don’t think I’d be a good source for vegeterian recipes, ever. But there are some dishes I would love conjure up in my kitchen some day.
Farina
You know what? Iv never seen or had this dish. Sounds yummy!
Rasa Malaysia
Farina – you don’t know what you’ve been missing :)
June Ong
Just adding one more tip. Eggs from ‘kampung’ chicken cost a lot more but they are very tasty in omelettes, especially the yolk.
Rasa Malaysia
June Ong – agreed!
lk
This is a simple yet delicious and nutritious meal for my family. I also cooked the same dish based on tips from “So Far 苏 Good” cooking show. But your dish looks so great! Hey, I am ready with my rice now, dun mind to serve me some tomato eggs please?
P/S: Congrats for being featured on Kwong Wah Yit Poh 光华日报! Kong Hee! ;)
Rasa Malaysia
LK – kam siah! I am asking my family to save and mail me a copy.
noobcook
Got to try it one day, love simple yet tasty home cooked food such as this =)
tigerfish
Though a simple dish, there are many tricks to make it the perfect 蕃茄炒蛋. Yummy. Another home-cook’s (me) favorite.
P.S A really well-written article in KW Chinese paper :D …a nice big pretty smile too.
Rasa Malaysia
Tigerfish – I wish my parents were still here to read it :(
keropokman
We eat this ALL THE TIME in our home. We never seem to get sick of it too. Some days when we have prawns in the fridge, we add it in too.
(btw, we kinda found out why so many people like this dish or get addicted to it. Tomatoes have lots of natural MSG in it. That’s why it’s so tasty!)
Rasa Malaysia
Keropokman – thanks for the idea of adding prawns to the tomato eggs. You know how I love prawns :)
Piegirl
I love 蕃茄炒蛋! Thanks for showing us how to do it right!
Rasa Malaysia
Piegirl – you’re most welcome!
Yin
♥ The first dish I ever learned to make. This is the Chinese equivalent of comfort food.
Rasa Malaysia
Yin – I believed my first dish also involved eggs and they didn’t turn too good if my memory serves right ;p
June Ong
I am reminded of my tours around China. Wherever the tour bus stopped for lunch/dinner, a big plate of tomatoes fried with eggs would be among the 6-8 dishes on the table. This simple, humble dish made a refreshing change from the usual oily food there.
lisaiscooking – this dish looks good with rice, porridge and bread :)
Nean
My husband introduced me (Anglo) to this while visiting his hometown – Hong Kong. I love the simple yet flavourful tastes. So simple yet so tasty, will have to try this on our daughter to get her to like toms
Craft Passion
Woops, after watching your cooking method, I realised that how silly I am for this while to just pour tomato source into the egg and stir fried :p Ok, will try this out over the weekend. Thanks for the great recipe and method for such a wonderful dish that everybody loves.
Rasa Malaysia
Craft Passion – enjoy!
calvaryzone
thanks for the recipe.
now i know what to do with those tomatoes in my fridge.
Rasa Malaysia
Calvaryzone – I sure hope there are plenty of ideas what to do with your fridge’s content here :)
steph
thanks for sharing this recipe! i have been looking for this for a long time… i used to eat this with corn kernels and green peas! :)
Rasa Malaysia
Steph – tomato eggs with corn kernels and green peas sounds like complete nutrition a person needs. Healthy!
lisaiscooking
This sounds delicious. What would you serve with it?
Rasa Malaysia
Lisaiscooking – check out June and Steph’s complementary suggestions
Leo
Great recipe. I’ve had different versions of this that friend’s have cooked but never learned how to cook it myself. I like this recipe, especially with the sesame oil and the Shaoxing wine. I’m going to check out your other recipes now. One minor note about this recipe: the scallions are missing in the ingredient list.