This super simple yet flavorful tomato eggs stir fry with tofu is filled with Chinese Asian flavors and perfect served over rice for a quick dinner meal. Gluten Free and Dairy Free too.
I was inspired to make this tomato eggs stir fry after my trip to China. I pretty much traveled in China for two months surviving entirely on this tomato eggs dish.
Well ok, that might be a slight exaggeration.
I did also happen to enjoy the Kung Pao chicken, cashew chicken, beer fish, fish flavored eggplant, and a number of other dishes.
But this tomato eggs stir fry was definitely one of my favorites and a go to dish that I could comfortably order just about anywhere confident that it would be delicious and exactly what I was expecting.
This wasn’t always the case in China — since many times we would have to order strictly from a picture menu where we frequently had absolutely no idea what surprise was lurking within the dish. And we found a lot of the dishes to be so greasy, I’m talking drenched in oil. It was simply too much.
I have one distinct memory when D and I were in China, up at the top of the Zhangjiajie mountains national park staying overnight in a guesthouse with no heat and 30 degrees F weather outside. Needless to say we were freezing. While we were pacing outside to keep warm we watched an older Chinese man, with a cigarette hanging from his mouth and an apron on, chase down a chicken, clip back its wings and slice its throat with a knife. All with his cigarette still hanging from his mouth.
How’s that for a dose of reality?
As we attempted to figure out the dining situation the guest house employee who spoke a solid handful of English words led us into the kitchen, (where that same cigarette smoking man was cooking), and started pointing to various vegetables and ingredients scattered. Apparently this is the dinner ordering process.
It was clear we would not be ordering off a menu, nor would there be pictures to choose from.
Spotting a few eggs and tomatoes in the corner I aggressively pointed to those, steering away from the chicken, which we saw slaughtered earlier that afternoon.
We scurried into the dining area and patiently awaited our steaming hot tomato eggs stir fry, with a tomato egg drop soup and bowls of rice.
After a full day of hiking and the freezing weather we couldn’t have been happier gobbling up our meals.
Such a simple dish – like scrambled eggs with lightly sauteed tomatoes and a mix of a few Asian sauces – but the result was incredible. Lightly and fluffy scrambled eggs with the acidity of the tomatoes and the depth from the splashes of various Chinese sauces.
I decided to add some tofu into the mix to make this a full and filling dinner meal, which surprisingly added more flavor to the tomato eggs dish.
This Asian tomato eggs stir fry recipe is interestingly simple yet so good. Serve over rice garnished with green onions for a Chinese themed dinner meal. While the more traditional version of this recipe included the two main ingredients as tomatoes and eggs, I figure the addition of tofu could only enhance this recipe and make it even more hearty and filling for a full meal. So although no the original authentic tomato eggs recipe I had in China, I’d say this is pretty close!
A super simple yet flavorful tomato eggs and tofu stir fry is filled with Asian flavors and perfect served over rice for a quick dinner meal. Gluten Free and Dairy Free too.
- 250 grams firm tofu
- 4 eggs
- 2 to matoes cut into wedges
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce make sure it's gluten-free
- 1 tablespoon gluten-free tamari
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/4 cup water
- handful scallions chopped
-
Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add salt, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and lightly beat to combine. Set aside.
-
Add 1 tablespoons oil to a wok and heat over medium-high heat. Add the thinly sliced tofu and cook on each side until lightly browned. Remove from wok and set aside.
-
Add 1 tablespoon oil to the wok and add the egg mixture to the wok, and use a spatula to spread the eggs over the surface of the wok. Keep stirring until the eggs turn lumpy. Break the eggs up into smaller pieces. As soon as the eggs are cooked though, remove them from the pan and and set aside.
-
Add 1 more tablespoon oil to the wok. Add the garlic and tomato wedges into the wok stir them up quickly. Add oyster sauce, tamari, tomato paste, sugar and water into the tomatoes. Cover it with the lid and let it cook for about 1-2 minutes.
-
Add the eggs and chopped scallions into the tomatoes, stir-fry for 1 minute and remove from heat. Add tofu, mix and serve everything over rice.
Recipe Adapted From Rasa Malaysia
Simone says
What a story… Lol.. I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have been too keen on eating that chicken after having seen it being killed… This dish looks great and is perfect as I recent decided I need to try more tofu dishes!
Vicky says
Haha yea after all that was definitely not looking to eat chicken for dinner. Hope you enjoy this dish : ))
Christine says
No one can say that chicken wouldn’t have been fresh;) What a lovely twist to a great classic!
Vicky says
Haha that’s for sure!
Lindsey @ American Heritage Cooking says
That story sounds very typically Chinese! Eggs were definitely a safe choice. Fortunately when I was traveling in China I still spoke a bit of Mandarin! This dish looks delicious!
Vicky says
I’m sure speaking even the tiniest bit of Mandarin helped so much! We traveled for a few days with a girl who studied Mandarin for a couple months and we felt like it made a word of difference! We tried to learn a few key words and phrases ourselves but sometimes seemed to have a bit of trouble with the pronunciation and people still didn’t understand us!
Rebecca | FoodFlav says
Oh. My. God. What a fantastic recipe. I love the entire idea of this Tomato Egg and cannot wait to make it. Pinning. Right. Now.
Vicky says
Thanks so much! It makes for a simple yet delicious stir fry. I love how the tomatoes break down and the juices mix with the scrambled slightly undercooked eggs.
THanks for pinning : ))
Leanne says
So delicious!!! Thank you for recipe!
Vicky says
Thanks!
Laura strnad says
I like this recipe. We sometimes use tofu in dishes because it is cheaper than meat. always good to have more recipes in stock. Don’ t have rice vinegar but I read that apple cider can be used i its place. What can I use to replace the sesame oil? It is rather pricey for me.
Vicky says
You can just omit the sesame oil and use olive oil instead. I love sesame oil in Asian dishes and even a teaspoon can go a long way so a bottle of sesame oil can last me several months, up to a year, so I find it to be a good investment!
Rebecca says
I rarely leave reviews on blogs, but after making this recipe countless times, I had to come thank the creator. I love how easy this dish is. How different it is. How delicious and comforting it is. I make it almost every week. I never thought of putting eggs, tofu, and tomato together, and it sounds a bit odd, but this dish is beautiful. I love it so much, it is a favourite, and on permanent rotation in my kitchen. Thank you for sharing it with the world.
My only changes are adding another tomato, doubling the vinegar, and sprinkling some sesame oil and soy sauce on top of the tofu while it’s browning. I serve it over brown jasmine rice.
Vicky says
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment and let me know what you thought of my recipe Rebecca! Yes eggs + tomato + tofu sounds like quick an unlikely combination but I truly love how it tastes! Love your additions!