Tender tomatoes and scrambled eggs are stir fried with aromatics and very simple seasonings and served with rice. It’s a super hearty and healthy meal that takes 10 minutes to throw together and it tastes so satisfying. {Vegetarian, Gluten-Free}
Tomato and egg stir-fry (西红柿炒鸡蛋, xi hong shi chao ji dan) is such a classic Chinese dish that it’s hard not to love. It has become a must-have at almost every school and office cafeteria. It’s one of the dishes that kids in China learn to make early on. It is the dish that overseas students miss the most. Chinese people my age used to eat this dish all the time growing up, and it’s something we still crave once in a while. The moment I pour the tomato and egg over rice, I can smell the sweet, sour and savory aroma that brings back nostalgic feelings of childhood.
What is tomato and egg stir fry
This dish is made with tomatoes cut into wedges, stir fried with scrambled eggs, and brought together with aromatics and a few very simple seasonings.
Tomato and egg stir fry is one of those dishes that every family has their own version of. Some people use Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and white pepper to add complexity. You could to add a touch of sesame oil at the end to make the dish nutty. Some like to use a cornstarch slurry to make the tomato juice into a thicker sauce.
Tomato and egg ingredients
For me, I like to keep my tomato and egg stir fry extremely simple, using only five ingredients (cooking oil and salt are usually not counted since everyone should have them). This is the way my mom taught me, and I’ve been enjoying it this way ever since.
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Tomato, sliced into wedges
- Eggs, beaten
- Minced garlic
- Salt
- Sugar
- Sliced green onion for garnish (if using)
Beefsteak tomatoes and vine-ripen tomatoes are perfect for this dish. You can use roma tomatoes too, although I found their skin is a bit thick for my liking.
What pan to use
A nonstick skillet is the easiest option for making tomato and eggs, since you can easily scramble the eggs without them sticking.
Although if you prefer to add a smokiness (wok hei) to the dish, a small carbon steel wok is a great option as well. Just make sure the wok is properly seasoned, and use a generous amount of oil when scrambling the eggs.
How to make tomato and egg stir fry
Making tomato and egg stir fry couldn’t be easier:
- Scramble the eggs and transfer them to a plate
- Gently cook the garlic
- Cook the tomato until softened
- Add back the eggs and season with salt and sugar
How to serve tomato and egg stir fry
Once you finish cooking, the tender tomato and scrambled eggs, with the juice from the tomatoes, make the dish almost like a stew. It is often served over a bed of steamed rice and served as a main dish. It is also commonly served with other stir fried dishes for a multi-course dinner. My mom also loves to serve it in Zha Jiang Mian (Old Beijing Fried Sauce Noodle), to add texture and color to the noodle dish.
How to make adjustments according to your own taste
If you’ve ever been to China, you may already have your personal preference when it comes to tomato and egg stir fry. I listed my favorite recipe below, but here are a few ways to alter it.
Create Your Own Favorite Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry
- Use 2 sliced green onions instead of garlic. The finished dish will be sweeter and have less pungent garlicky taste.
- Double the amount of sugar if you prefer a slightly sweet dish. The sugar here balances the tartness of the tomato. Because sometimes the tomatoes from the grocery store are not vine ripened and can be on the sour side. If you’re using farmer’s market tomatoes or homegrown tomatoes, you might only need a pinch of sugar.
- I like to season the dish using only salt and sugar, to let the flavor of the tomatoes and egg shine through. If you prefer a slightly more complex dish, halve the salt, add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of Shaoxing wine, and 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper.
- Add 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil at the end to add nuttiness. I used a high quality peanut oil, so I skipped the sesame oil.
- To get more sauce and make the dish almost like a stew – double the amount of tomatoes, chop them into smaller chunks, and cook them for a longer time over medium heat, until they have almost melted into a paste, before adding back the egg. By the way, this is the typical cafeteria style – it allows the chef to use fewer eggs and cut costs 😉
Did you find your favorite style in the list? If not, drop me a note below and I will add it!
Other easy Chinese homestyle recipes
- Bok Choy and Mushroom Stir Fry
- Chinese Chicken Noodle Salad (鸡丝凉面)
- Stir Fried Garlic Scape with Eggs (蒜苔炒鸡蛋)
- Stir Fried Vermicelli with Pork (Ma Yi Shang Shu, 蚂蚁上树)
- Dry Pot Cauliflower (干锅菜花)
Tomato And Egg Stir Fry (西红柿炒鸡蛋)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 4 eggs , beaten
- 4 (1.1 lb / 500 g) vine-ripe tomatoes , chopped to bite-size pieces
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar (Footnote 1)
- green onion , sliced (for garnish) (Optional)
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is ready, add egg and cook until the bottom side is done, but the top is still raw, about 30 seconds. Scramble the eggs while chopping into bite sized pieces, until the egg is just cooked. Turn to lowest heat, transfer egg to a plate, and set aside.
- Add the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of oil and the garlic and turn back to medium-high heat. Stir the garlic a few times until fragrant. Add tomato and stir fry until the texture becomes soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg back into skillet. Sprinkle the salt and sugar evenly over everything. Quickly mix everything together with a spatula until evenly seasoned. Taste the dish and adjust seasoning by adding a bit more sugar or salt if needed.
- Serve hot over steamed rice as a main dish or a side dish.
Notes
- The sugar here balances the sourness of the tomato. Sometimes tomatoes from the grocery store are not vine ripened and can be quite sour, and the sugar makes the dish taste much better. If you prefer a slightly sweet dish, you can increase the sugar to 2 teaspoons. If you’re using farmer’s market tomatoes or homegrown tomatoes, you might only need a pinch of sugar.
This is the dish that catches every non-Chinese person off-guard. “Tomatoes aren’t Chinese!” is the initial reaction. “Wow, that’s really delicious, simple, and comforting,” is the secondary reaction.
As a kid, I used to put ketchup on scrambled eggs, and this dish matches the taste of that pretty well, so the dish was pure nostalgia from the first time I tried it.
Thanks for sharing!
Wow, this dish just brought me back to my childhood too. My mom used to make a similar dish like this since I was the picky eater in the family and wouldn’t try new foods but I would always eat anything with eggs 🙂 I could totally go for a bowl of this for dinner tonight!
Easy, simple, cozy. Love eggs and we have a similar Bangladeshi recipe. I Just ate dinner and getting hungry again.
Hi Lail, thanks for stopping by my blog! It’s interesting to know that Bangladeshi has a similar dish too!
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!
Looks amazing Maggie! Simple , delicious and comforting! And of course healthy! Pinned and will try it!
MMM delicious! I ate this dish a lot while growing up and it’s for sure a family favorite 🙂 I like your video too!
Thanks for stopping by Sarah! Glad you like the video 🙂
Have a great week ahead!
Hi,ver nice recipe.
I like the skillet.
what is your skillet’s brand?
Hi Elif, I use an Lagostina academia cast aluminium 24cm skillet (similar to this one). It’s a Canadian brand.
My mom used to cook this all the time when I was growing up, but for some reason, she doesn’t really cook it anymore! I might have to cook this myself one day!
Hello! How wonderful! I once visited China, not even for a week, but I still remember this dish! The tomatoes were fairly runny, as I remember, but it was delicious. I haven’t seen the dish since, but I remember being quite surprised that that was ‘a thing’ in China. I guess it’s like the ‘beans on toast’ that we Brits used to have as children!
Hi Helen, yep, it’s ‘a thing’ here and I believe it’s children’s favorite! Yes, there is a way to cook the tomato into a runny paste, especially in restaurants or cafeteria. I like both ways 🙂
I remember I had this before. It’s really delicious! It’s so simple to make too. I have some tomatoes and eggs to finish tomorrow, so I gotta try this for my lunch! They are always in my fridge, so I can quickly fix this dish. 🙂 Thanks for sharing a great recipe, Maggie!
I’ve made this so many times. It’s so simple yet so damn good. I ate it a lot whole backpacking in China looking for a cheap meal and tried to recreate it myself but your recipe made it super easy. Thank you!!
This stir fry is so unique but looks oh so wonderful. You’ve outdone yourself with this
I love your blog because you show me all these classic Chinese dishes that are so simple to make and yet I have never tried them (but know instantly I will love them!). I really love this one! I can see myself making this for breakfast. Is that weird?
Not at all! I eat all sorts of stir fried dish through out the day. Normally I don’t eat a lot for breakfast, but somehow I can finish a big plate of fried rice 😉
I love eggs and tomatoes together but I’ve never used this method of preparation. Omelettes are a quick and easy meal after work for me and now I have two options and I always have green onions on hand – they seem to add so much to almost any dish. Love this, Maggie!
What an interesting back story Maggie! I had no idea even women had to participate in military training. That camp did not sound fun… I’ve never had this before, but it looks delicious and filling! Is it weird to have this for breakfast?…sans the rice of course.
Your recipe is by far my favorite. The sauce method (let tomatoes cook to a thick sauce) really works for me. Sometimes I use cilantro rather than green onion if I am out of spring onions.
This is such a great dish! Thanks for giving the detailed recipe and the alternatives. When I’ve looked up this recipe online before or asked Chinese friends I couldn’t get exact amounts of the ingredients. You are just supposed to make it “to taste”. The problem is I’m not good at that!! I know what tastes good but I don’t know how to get there! So thanks for your recipe.
You gave instructions for making more sauce. I want to use it for a noodle sauce. When I lived in Shanxi a common dish was noodles with tomato and egg sauce – a kind of da lu mian. Could I use this recipe for that sauce?
Hi Jen, thanks so much for your kind words! Yes I came across the same problem when I read Chinese recipes. To many “to taste”!
Yes you can use this recipe for the da lu mian sauce. Just make sure you cook the tomato long enough so the dish turns juicy.
My family has a special way to enjoy the noodle sauce. We make a Beijing style fried pork sauce and then combine it with the tomato and egg sauce. The noodles taste SO GOOD! Check it out if you’re interested: https://omnivorescookbook.com/homemade-zha-jiang-mian-fried-sauce-noodles/
Happy cooking and let me know how your dish turns out 🙂
Maggie, I love this dish – I also grew up eating it at home! Brings back a lot of nostalgia. It’s one of those dishes I always make thinking I’ll have leftovers but somehow I end up eating it all in one sitting…
Hi Stephanie, it’s totally the same here! It is always one of my favorite comfort dishes and it is the first dish I’ve learned to cook when I was a kid 🙂 And I agree, there is no way to have leftovers for this one!
This is real comfort food. Something about the egg & tomato combination. I did the savory- style and loved it! Thank you for the recipe. It’s nice to know that there are ‘classic’ dishes that are pretty simple to make 😉
My bf is from china but is living on his own here in America. I often try to find recipes to make for him that will make him a little less homesick and bring back good memories of home. This, he had mentioned was one of his all time favorite meals growing up. I’m so glad to have found this. He not only loved it but said it tastes like he remembered and he was very happy. Ty for the recipe:) I can’t wait to explore what else you’ve posted
Hi Kristy, thanks so much for leaving a comment and I’m glad to hear your bf enjoyed the dish! It’s so sweet of you to find recipes he likes 🙂
Can’t wait to hear what you cook the next. Have a great day you both!
Just tried Chinese egg and tomatoes for the first time and I’m obsessed! Such a simple dish but so filling! Excited to follow your recipe on a daily basis! Do you think this keeps well for a few days? I’d like to meal prep it for 2-3 meals.
Hi Cindy, the dish usually stay in the fridge for 1 to 2 days, but it might turn a bit watery. But yes, it’s possible to prepare it for 2 to 3 meals.
Hi Maggie, thanks for the detailed explanation on the tomatoes so now I know which type to choose for this dish lol. Btw, I like your recipe because we can use simple, natural ingredients (too many similar recipes call for chicken flavored cubes, msg etc) so I selected yours to prepare lunch. My family loved it. They licked the plate, spoons, pan etc lmao. Interestingly, my teeth felt very clean after eating (no sticky film on them) maybe due to the acidity of the tomatoes.
Sometimes I add a bit of tomato paste (no salt) when I ended up with the ‘tasteless’ variety of tomatoes since the good ones are not always available.
ps: Thank you so much for sharing. 5 Stars!
Simple and yum, actually really yum
Loved making this with my garden’s tomatoes which were already sweet so I used less sugar. Thanks for the care you put into giving clear instruction and sharing tips from readers.
I have been making this dish since my children were little from memory of how my mom made it and it is one of our family favourites. Often just added sugar and salt going by taste-never really sure how much I was adding. It’s great to have a guideline as in your recipe-thank you. I also make a vegan version by replacing the egg with pan fried tofu-we are eating more plant based so it’s a great substitute.
One of my favorite dishes when time is short and comfort is is in dire need.
This recipe is so simple and delicious. I make this anytime I know I’ll have leftover rice to serve it with.
What an interesting combo of ingredients!
It is our family favorite dish! Simple and fulfilling
Thanks for this simple recipe. I’m not a tomato fan and only had tinned but it was still a success and one I want to repeat! Praise the LORD! (Psalm 117v1