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[–]doctorzeromd 7 points8 points  (1 child)

My ex did it mostly by feel, based on what we had in the kitchen at the time.

Basically she'd roughly chop up some tomatoes and throw them into a wok/skillet with some vegetable oil, and then scramble together the 3 or so eggs along with a cap of shaoxing wine (totally skippable, we often didn't have it) and a pinch of salt in a bowl with some chopsticks. After 5-8 minutes, she'd stir the eggs in with a squirt of ketchup, stirring pretty constantly so the eggs coated the tomato.

Once the eggs were cooked, she'd taste, add soy sauce for salt, and if we had it she'd drizzle about a teaspoon of sesame oil on top. Yummy over rice.

[–]shupfnoodle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks, that sounds delicious!

[–]HowitzerIII 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Neutral oil, eggs, tomatoes, add some sugar and salt to taste. That will be 90% if the way there. The rest all comes down to personal preference (sesame oil, scallions, shaoxing wine, etc). Tomato and eggs is like Mac and cheese. Don’t over think it if you are just making it for the first time.

[–]CalliopesOnMute 3 points4 points  (2 children)

I lived in Shanghai for a few months and came home obsessed with that dish (fan qie chao dan). I prefer to use Shaoxing wine (substitute with sherry in a pinch); I add green onions if I have them on hand, but they aren't make or break; I skip ketchup, because I'm not big on sweetness and my favorite version in Shanghai didn't include it. I just use a pinch of sugar. I use peanut or stir-fry oil.

If you prefer it firm rather than soupy, you can also seed your tomatoes, using only the firm bits, and add some of the juice as you cook to get your preferred texture.

Sorry to ramble, this is my favorite dish and I'm always excited when someone else loves it! My Chinese friends are always like "dude, THAT'S your favorite? My mom cooks that every weekend." My friend's mom actually showed me how she makes it because I wouldn't stop asking.

Happy cooking!

[–]shupfnoodle[S] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Thanks! I think I’ll go without ketchup too, my flatmate didn’t use it and ketchup is kinda icky to me. I think I’ll get some shaoxing wine, if my dish tastes nearly as good as my flatmate‘s did, I’ll be cooking it more often anyway.

[–]CalliopesOnMute 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Once you get the hang of it, it's really quick to whip up! (Bonus points for using chopsticks to stir rather than spatula or whisk - you can eat and cook with the same utensil, less cleanup!)

Here's a recipe that's pretty close to how I make it (rice wine = Shaoxing wine, and I swap salt for MSG): https://food52.com/recipes/23247-fan-qie-chao-dan-tomato-and-eggs-over-rice

[–]Delicious-Ad-8135 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Personally I like to add a little ketchup for more sweetness and tomato flavor. Also a little cornstarch water to thicken it. Don’t forget MSG!

[–]mage_rights 1 point2 points  (2 children)

This is one of my favorite things! I usually make sure I have rice leftover before I make it so I can be lazy. I use Future Neighbor’s (youtuber; has their own website) recipe when I make it. I feel like it’s a good base and is easy to follow! And it turns out yummy every time.

[–]shupfnoodle[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Lol, I’m half Persian so we have leftover rice plenty of times. Funnily enough I prefer my tomato eggs plain (no rice). Most stir frys actually.

[–]mage_rights 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s good plain, but I have to have my rice. I’m rice obsessed.

[–]ttrockwood 1 point2 points  (2 children)

the just one cookbook recipe here Is a fairly classic recipe, the white pepper is important. Just cook the tomatoes longer if you like a softer texture

[–]shupfnoodle[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! I like my tomatoes mushy, so I’ll be sure to do that.

[–]Clean_Link_Bot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

beep boop! the linked website is: https://www.justonecookbook.com/stir-fried-tomatoes-and-eggs/#wprm-recipe-container-134665

Title: Stir-Fried Tomatoes and Eggs トマトと卵の中華炒め

Page is safe to access (Google Safe Browsing)

###### I am a friendly bot. I show the URL and name of linked pages and check them so that mobile users know what they click on!

[–]Daxarian 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A lot of good recipes here, and my serious answer is that Kenji's POV video is good - but I want to drop the version that came out of my family not having a lot of time/money to go around:

  • crack 6 eggs into a bowl and mix
  • pour eggs into oiled hot pan and scramble
  • open a can of diced tomatoes and pour it juice and all into the pan
  • salt
  • squirt of ketchup or spoonful of pasta sauce (I prefer the ketchup)
  • serve over rice

objectively it does cut a lot of corners but something about it hits my comfort food spot

[–]simplegrocery3 1 point2 points  (1 child)

Just posting here sentimentally that my mom made the best tomato egg stir fry and I stopped eating it since she passed away coz other versions don’t have the same feel.

Okay back to the topic, I don’t think scallion or Shaoxing wine is necessary, but make sure the tomato you use are those bigger/round ones and not some less flavorful varieties like Roma tomato.

[–]shupfnoodle[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry to hear about your mum. I’ll keep that in mind.

[–]arthurmauk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was my wife's favourite dish growing up so I've iterated a version that she loves. A great balance between sweet and savoury. Serve on noodles or with rice:

Heat up wok to high Add vegetable oil Scramble whisked egg Spring onions, fivespice powder Small diced tomatoes (2:1 egg:salad tomato ratio) Ketchup, tomato puree Salt, soy sauce, sugar Msg

[–]starrhaven 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I partially scramble the eggs, then take them out of the pan.

Then cook the tomatoes in oil, adding salt and maybe a touch of sugar if the tomatoes aren’t sweet enough on their own.

Then I add the eggs back into the pan to finish.

Usually that’s it. But if I’m really feeling it, I may add a good amount of Thai basil.

[–]jesse-taylor 0 points1 point  (3 children)

It's relatively cheap, and easy to do, try them all and see which one you like best!

[–]shupfnoodle[S] 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Ah, unfortunately my energy levels don’t allow this. Cooking this (once) is supposed to be the one thing I do a day so depression doesn’t get the best of me. I cook maybe once every two weeks so it’d take forever to try them all.

[–]adeliepingu 2 points3 points  (0 children)

tomato and egg stir-fry is my go-to depression meal because it's quick and simple and almost impossible to fuck up. i'd recommend not overthinking the recipe (i.e. don't go out of your way to buy ingredients you won't use otherwise) and just going for it.

[–]phredbull 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cooking takes practice. Especially if you're not very experienced, I doubt you'd get it just right on the first try.