The first time I ate this Chinese tomato and egg dish, I was at the Nanfeng ancient kiln in Foshan, China. The kiln is surrounded by a small cluster of buildings akin to a village, saturated at street level with shops filled with supposedly local and authentic pottery. It started getting hot out, so I stepped into a small cafe, and really just wanted to try the local version of scallion pancakes (they seemed to be cut into 2x2in squares with scissors, which I had never seen before). I thought it would take a thousand scallion pancakes to get me full, so to avoid that, I ordered a bowl of tomato eggs with rice. I must say that the eggs were the star of the show. I learned later that this is a common home-cooking meal in China - indeed, throughout Asia. After tasting it in Foshan, I could absolutely see why. It is the epitome of comfort food.
I researched many recipes and discussed with several Chinese and Taiwanese coworkers about the most authentic way of making this dish. Of course, as with most Asian dishes, there are regional variations, so I picked the combination of ingredients I thought would taste best. In the end, what I managed to make tasted even better than the version I had in Foshan. The tomatoes I had happened to be super ripe, so they contributed their classic tomato tang, but also a deep, molasses-like sweetness to the dish. That, paired with the richness of the eggs, the nuttiness of the sesame oil, the astringency of the rice wine and green onions, and the subtle numbing of Sichuan peppercorn already adds up to a great combination, but the real hero is the combination of all that with the rice. The sauce seeps down into it and coats every grain, and the overall effect is that of a dry stew. I say it is the epitome of comfort food because it would be the perfect meal to warm the bones on a cold night, but the flavors are also so light and refreshing from the tomatoes that it would also fit perfectly into a cooling lunch beneath the scorching Chinese sun, as it did for me. I’m really glad I could figure out a version of this dish that could both remind me of that day in Foshan as well as satisfy my own predilections for comfort food, and I hope it does the same for you.
Butter Count: 6 eggs
INGREDIENTS:
4 medium tomatoes, ripe
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
3 Tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 scallion, minced
2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS:
Cut the tomatoes into small wedges, about 16 wedges per tomato if you can manage it (a sharp knife helps here).
In a small bowl, add the eggs, salt, white pepper, sesame oil, and Shaoxing rice wine. Whisk for one minute.
Over medium heat, at 2 Tbsp vegetable oil and heat until a drop of the egg mixture, when added to the wok, immediately bubbles and spatters. Add the entire egg mixture, using a rubber spatula to make sure it all gets transferred from the bowl to the wok. Scramble the eggs until cooked to your liking, and immediately transfer them to a plate.
Add the remaining 1 Tbsp vegetable oil to the wok, and increase the heat to high. Add the tomatoes and scallion and cook about 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add the sugar and water, along with the scrambled eggs from earlier.
Stir well, and then cover the wok and continue cooking about 2 minutes. Remove the cover and continue cooking while stirring until the sauce is thickened according to your preference.
Serve over plain white rice or wheat noodles.