This Chinese Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry Beats Takeout

Chinese tomato and egg stir-fry is a classic Chinese home-style dish that’s easy, simple, and packed full of flavor! Soft, fluffy scrambled eggs are combined with fresh, juicy, succulent tomatoes in a rich, sweet, and tangy sauce to create this iconic Chinese dish. All it takes is just a few minutes to create this simple yet delicious meal that is perfect for any day of the week.

What Is Chinese Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry?

Chinese egg and tomato stir fry (番茄 炒 蛋) is a classic Chinese dish that combines scrambled fluffy eggs with fresh tomatoes to create the perfect union of flavors.

There are different debated ways of making this dish but it generally involves cooking tomatoes down into a sauce while chunks of tomatoes are still present that are soft and tender. This is then combined with scrambled eggs.

What you’re left with is a sweet and tangy sauce, rich with tomato flavor and pieces of tomatoes with soft, fluffy eggs in every bite.

This dish is popular due to it’s taste, simplicity, and cooking time.

In just a few minutes, you can whip up this tasty dish, which makes it perfect for days when you’re pressed for time.

What to Cook First, the Tomatoes or the Eggs?

There has been heated debates regarding what you should cook first when making Chinese style eggs and tomatoes.

Some people claim that you should cook the eggs first and then let it sit idle while you focus on cooking the tomatoes and sauce, while others believe that the tomatoes should be cooked first.

From my own experience, I prefer that the eggs are cooked last.

The reason being?

If you cook the eggs first, once you remove it from the pan, the residual heat will continue to cook your eggs.

By the time you add the eggs back in with the tomatoes and sauce, they will have already become fully cooked, dense, and even dry. All of that fluffiness and airiness is gone by this point and then when you add it to the sauce, the eggs will get cooked further, albeit only for a brief time. The eggs at this point will have become dense and will be less able to absorb the tomato sauce.

What you end up with is a dish that feels like eggs have been added to tomatoes with sauce rather than a dish that is a unique union of the two main ingredients.

This is why I prefer to cook my tomatoes first when making Chinese scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

What Tomatoes Should You Use for Chinese Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs

Basically, you want a type of tomato that has a rich and concentrated flavor to them, otherwise the dish will lack that tomato flavor in the end.

Ideal candidates for this would be tomatoes on the vine, cherry tomatoes, and possibly grape tomatoes.

Now that we’ve talked a bit about Chinese tomato egg stir fry, let’s discuss some key ingredients that you’ll need for this Chinese tomato and egg stir fry recipe.

Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry Ingredient Notes

Eggs: You can use whatever type of eggs that you have at home. Regular, omega-3, organic, free-range or whatever overpriced product that they are trying to market and sell to empty your wallet faster 🙄

Tomatoes: I recommend using fresh tomatoes and not canned. The dish will taste so much better. You know how a lot of tomato dishes use tomatoes; however, you can’t really taste too much of the tomatoes in the dish? Well, we’re going to solve this problem by using tomatoes that have a more concentrated tomato taste to it. For this dish, I’m using tomatoes on the vine, which have a more concentrated, intense tomato taste to it compared to other tomato types, such as beefsteak tomatoes.

Tomato sauce: You can use any brand of tomato sauce, just make sure that it says tomato sauce and not pasta sauce or pizza sauce! The tomato sauce will further enhance the flavor of the tomato sauce, giving you a richer tomato sauce in the final end product.

Rice vinegar/ White vinegar: You can choose to use either Chinese rice vinegar or white vinegar. It doesn’t make too much of a difference, I found. The rice vinegar and vinegar will add a bit of sourness to the dish, making it a perfect complement to the tomatoes.

Ketchup: The ketchup adds a bit of acidity, sweetness, and sourness to the dish, helping to balance out all of the flavors.

How to Make Chinese Tomato and Egg Stir-Fry

1. Crack 4 eggs, add in 1 tsp of table salt and whisk them together and set aside.

2. Cut the tomatoes in half and remove the stem in the middle.

3. Now slice half of the tomatos into slices about 1/2 inch thick in a straight downward motion and the other half slice into pieces and set them aside (you should have about 4 large slices and around 8 smaller straight slices per a tomato).

4. Heat up a pan or wok on medium heat.
5. Once the wok is hot enough and you start to see smoking coming out, add in about 1 Tbsp of cooking oil and then add in your tomatoes.

6. Mix well and cook the tomatoes for about 30 seconds, then add in your tomato sauce, ketchup, table salt, sugar, rice vinegar/white vinegar, and soy sauce.

7. Mix everything well together then add in your water and mix well.

8. Let it cook over medium heat for roughly 4-5 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened up and turned into a sauce.

9. Now add in your cornstarch slurry and mix everything well together until the sauce becomes nice and thick.

10. Remove the tomatoes and sauce from the wok.
11. Wash the wok/pan or use another clean one.
12. Heat up the wok until it is hot and smoke is coming out.
13. Add about 2 Tbsp of cooking oil and heat up the oil. The oil should be shimmering and moving around the wok easily.
14. Add in your eggs and let them cook about 75-80% of the way done until they start to puff up and become fluffy and airy.

15. Now add back in your tomatoes and sauce. Mix everything well together for about 30 seconds. 

16. Remove from the stove, garnish with cut green onions and serve.

Storage Tips

This recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. When ready to eat, simply re-heat in the microwave until hot and serve.

Side Dishes:

You might want to pair this dish with some other savory dishes, such as my Chinese stuffed tofu with minced pork and shrimp dish or my Ong Choy (water spinach) with fermented bean curd recipe. This tomato and egg stir-fry recipe is also meant to be eaten with steamed white rice as well.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I Add Meat or Protein to This Dish?

Yes, you can. Chicken, beef, pork, will work. Shrimp might also work as well.

Can I Use Canned Tomatoes for This Dish?

You can, however it won’t taste nearly as good as using fresh tomatoes. I suggest using fresh tomatoes whenever possible.

Can I Use Duck Eggs Instead of Chicken Eggs?

It should work.

Can I Peel the Skin off the Tomatoes for This Dish?

You can if you’d like. Just simply make 4 cuts around the tomato in a cross shape, starting at the bottom of the tomatos and then add them to some hot water to blanch for about 30 seconds to 1 minute before finally peeling off the skin.

However, the tomatoes in this dish will naturally soften up as we cook the tomato sauce so I don’t believe this step is necessary. The skin also adds a nice contrast in texture to the soft flesh of the tomatoes as well.

What Type of Tomatoes Should I Use for This Dish?

I recommend using tomatoes on the vine or cherry tomatoes. Grape tomatoes may also work well. Basically, you want any type of tomato that has a more concentrated flavor & taste.