So far, I have focused on traditional Chinese herbs and spices, but now I am going to cook using a key ingredient that features in nearly all Chinese cookery; the humble egg. Find it in noodles, rice, dumplings, soups, stir fries, curries, stews; the list could just go on and on! 

For me, eggs give Chinese cuisine a unique texture and subtle background flavour I now expect to experience in my fried rice or noodles. However, I wanted to make a dish where the egg is the main component and taste. Everyone will know and has eaten this particular dish, and it includes another key ingredient I did not think would feature in Chinese food… tomato. 

As basically Stir Fried Egg & Tomato, I would not have thought a dish using these two ingredients would taste so authentically Chinese, but cook this the right way, and it really does taste amazingly both sweet and sour; I can’t get enough of it. Here is the recipe and step by step method I used.

Serves: 3
Method: Stir Fry
Time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: 3/10

INGREDIENTS

1. 4-6 eggs (depending on how big they are!)
2. 2-3 tomatoes, diced or chopped
3. 2 spring onions, chopped (quite thickly; use both the white and green bits)
4. 1 tbsp oil (any flavourless cooking oil is fine; NO SESAME OIL)
5. Pinch of salt and pepper (white or black is fine)
6. 1-2 tsps rice vinegar
7. A few pinches of sugar

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DIRECTIONS

1. Into a bowl, add the eggs and the white parts of the spring onions. Beat well and add the salt and pepper too. Then grab your wok and heat up ½ tbsp of oil. Wait until the oil is quite hot, but not smoking otherwise the eggs will burn! I always test the oil by putting a bit of onion in the pan, and when the onion starts bubbling in the oil, then the eggs are ready to go in. 
2. Once the oil is hot enough, add the eggs. Do not mix them at this point; leave the egg for a couple of seconds until the outside of the egg mixture starts to cook and colour a light yellow, then start mixing, making sure the egg breaks into pieces. Cook for 1-2 minutes until they are almost cooked through. Remove from wok. 
3. Add the remaining oil to the pan. In a bowl, mix the tomatoes, sugar and vinegar and then cook in the wok. Stir VERY gently, as you do not want the tomatoes to disintegrate and become a paste. You should cook until you can see the juices running out of the tomatoes and you can smell they have turned sweet and sour. I would advise tasting the tomatoes now so you can alter their seasoning, if they are too sweet, add a bit of vinegar; too sour, add sugar.
4. Once the tomatoes are cooked, return the egg to the pan and add the green part of the onions, mix together gently until the tomato and egg is evenly distributed. Tip into a bowl and serve.

This dish really did taste very authentic and I loved the contrast of the sweet and sour tang in my mouth. Stir gently and you will have a great meal that delivers both on texture and flavour; a perfect Chinese style breakfast!