Stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs (Chinese: 番茄炒蛋/番茄炒鸡蛋/西紅柿炒雞蛋) is a common dish in China.[1] It is usually served as a main course. Because of the simplicity of preparation, it is popular in student canteens and is often paired with steamed rice.
Shakshouka (Arabic: شكشوكة) is a very similar dish eaten in the Levant of the Middle East. The dish is also considered a main dish in various parts in the Arab world.
A version of this dish, called ginisang kamatis at itlog, is also eaten in the Philippines, usually during breakfast, and paired with garlic fried rice, or sandwiched between sliced pandesal.[citation needed]
Scrambled eggs have been eaten in China for thousands of years, but cooking them with tomatoes is a result of mixing Chinese and Western cuisine. Western restaurants using tomatoes in their cuisine began to appear in China during the late Qing Dynasty and early Republican era, influencing Chinese people to experiment with tomatoes in cooking. This was particularly prominent around Shanghai, which was the most cosmopolitan Chinese city at the time. In the 1920s and 1930s, stir-fried tomato and scrambled eggs was sold at restaurants. It was around the 1940s that records of the homecooked style stir-fried tomato and scrambled egg dish emerged.[2]
The eggs are scrambled, and the tomatoes are sliced into wedges. In Francis Lam's recipe published in The New York Times, the eggs are first cooked, then set aside as the tomatoes are cooked. Finally, the eggs are added back to the heat with the tomatoes, and they are stirred together until combined and fully cooked.[3]
Alternatively,[which?] the tomatoes are stir fried first for approximately a minute and salted. The eggs are added to the heat next, and the dish is cooked until done to taste.[4][unreliable source?]
