Authentic Chinese Dish by Nana

Most simple but delicious Chinese food: Fried Egg with Tomato.

I heard too many comments from my friends that Chinese food in the restaurants is too salty and oily. The way to understand it could be: 1) The fried part of vegetable/meat usually gains more flavor from other ingredients in the dish; so that could potentially bring 2) more appetite from the customers, then you spend more money on the dishes--- very logical ^.^. BUT it’s not very healthy. When we talk about healthy Chinese food I normally consume, they must be home-cooked dishes, which often cook in low-heat oil and less fancy but original and healthier ingredients.

So today, I am going present you a very simple but authentic Chinese fried. It’s so popular that every Chinese kid can make the dish. If someone in China claims that they can cook, and they list this dish as the first ‘can-cook’ dish, we usually tease about that. Because this is must the first dish you learn. However, once you could cook this dish, you will be able to cook hundreds of simple and authentic Chinese fried dishes.

Ingredients for fried egg with tomato (serves 2 people): 3 eggs, 2 tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (or any kind of oil), 1 tablespoon soy sauce (optional), 1 green onion (optional), 2 cloves garlic (optional), 3 dry chili papers(optional).

(You only need to prepare the ingredients from the picture, and just oil and salt in addition)

Step 1: Cut the tomato and beat the egg (add 1 tablespoon soy sauce to the egg and mix it well with egg);

Step 2: Fry the egg with 1-tablespoon vegetable oil with over-medium heat. Take the egg out in a bow for step 4.

Step 3: To fry diced garlic and chili peppers with over-medium heat. You only need 10 seconds to fry, which aims to get the garlic and chili pepper flavor and you never want them over cook, remember? It is not very healthy to over cook the oil, and the over cooked garlic and chili peppers bring the unpleasant smell to your kitchen ;-). Please quickly add the tomato and stir to mix the garlic and chili pepper with tomato. Add 1 teaspoon salt and taste it. If you like more salt you could add it more, and if you like it a bit sweet, you could add 2 teaspoon sugar.

Step 4. Add the fried egg to the pan and stir fry with tomato. You could use your spoon or spatula to cut the egg to the shape and size you like it your dish. I prefer small pieces since they can get more flavor from tomato fry.

Step 5: Taste your fry, to see if it’s good. Add more salt or soy sauce, to make it better to your taste, and then you can serve it.

More authentic Chinese from this dish: If you add cooked rice, you will make egg-tomato fried rice, if you add cooked noodle, then it is egg-tomato fried noodle. What a magical trick!!!!

With the step 3, fry diced garlic and chili pepper with 1 tablespoon oil and you could cook hundreds of authentic Chinese vegetable fry.

You could fry every kind of leafy vegetable you could find in the supermarket (e.g. spinach, cabbage, or even green bean), vegetable peppers, and all kinds of mushroom. Just use the imagination, which is how Chinese people do, we eat everything because Chinese people could cook everything (in a good way in my chicken, hahahaha) 

Fired water spinach (also known as morning-glory) (the very famous Vietnam dish---Ong Choy)

Fried regular cabbage

Fried green bean with mushroom.

Stay tuned for another Chinese Dish from Nana next week!