Before I retire from China for a while, I’ve begun a frantic attempt to confront the wok head on and learn how to cook some Chinese food. This dish, 番茄炒蛋 fanqie chao dan, is a Chinese staple. Found in any restaurant in China, it’s still beyond me how the Chinese were able to take two things so simple, the tomato and the egg, and create this confectionery masterpiece. The dish should come out with the eggs and tomatoes broken down into a beautiful brothy tomato stew. It’s best served on top of some fresh steamed jasmine rice. Here is the recipe as I cook it (the regular one includes a hefty dose of MSG).
Ingredients:
About 2.5 pounds ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
5 eggs, beaten
Sugar
Salt
A few scallions, sliced crosswise
Sesame Oil
1. Heat a small amount of oil in your wok. Pour your eggs in and scramble. You want to leave the eggs in large curds, so don’t stir too much. Take them out a little before done, and set them aside.
2. Clean the wok, then heat up a little more oil. Place the tomatoes in and cook over medium heat until they release their juices and start to break down, about 5-10 minutes depending on the type of tomato.
3. Pour in the already-cooked eggs. Mix together. Add 1/2 to 1 tsp sugar and salt to taste. Taste and add more sugar if needed – the ‘stew’ should have a sweet edge.
4. Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let the tomatoes and eggs sit for a few minutes or so, then serve warm (but not steaming hot), sprinkled with scallions and sesame oil.
好吃吗？ B
4 Comments so far
Leave a comment
Feed Me 
Wow the recipe seems simple and sounds delicious. Yes, it will be so great on rice. Thanks for sharing.
Comment by Tes June 22, 2010 @ 1:33 pmHen hao chi!!!! Wo ai shanghai . But yea good recipe. Xie xie
Comment by Colin December 14, 2010 @ 9:24 pmOne of my favorite Chinese dishes. The great thing about fanqie chaodan is that everybody makes it a little bit differently. I like to throw in plenty of big chunks of garlic into mine, and I’ve even had it spiced up with hot chili (southwest China style). Thanks for posting this!
Comment by Bonochromatic January 11, 2011 @ 11:56 amI searched for it a long time now. It was my favorite one on my half year traineeship in SH.
Many Thanks!!!
Comment by Simon H. November 14, 2011 @ 12:01 pm