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One Dish, Two Names, and Extra Thoughts I Had While Seasoning My Wok
This tomato-and-egg stir fry goes by two names: 番茄炒鸡蛋 (fānqié chǎo jīdàn) and 西红柿炒鸡蛋 (xīhóngshì chǎo jīdàn). Both mean the same thing, there are just two ways of referring to tomatoes in Chinese—番茄 (fānqié) or 西红柿 (xīhóngshì), depending on which region of the country you are in.
Either way you want to call it, according to a friend, this dish is a tried-and-true “fav struggle meal.”
I use a wok to make this dish and if you own one, or a cast iron skillet, you’ll understand that these are cooking wares that require TLC. Each time you use them and give them a scrub, you have to season them with a little oil. As someone who has long suffered from dry skin and eczema, I get it. Who wouldn’t want a little extra moisturizing?
As a result of the love and care these pans require, it’s oddly easy to get a little attached and sentimental about them. I still think about the cast iron skillet and wok I had in college that I so lovingly worked to maintain, only to realize upon graduation that both were too heavy to pack in a box and ship from Chicago to NYC, so I passed them on to someone new.
My mother had a wok she used for a decade. Her knives are from the 90s. There is a juicer in our family kitchen older than me. I have a friend that moves everywhere with her cast iron (and she works seasonal jobs so you know that skillet is well-traveled).
As I’m standing in my kitchen on a Wednesday night seasoning my wok under the microwave light, I wonder if this is the wok I’ll commit to. The one I won’t leave behind between moves. The wok I’ll tell (potential) future children, when they ask why I refuse to replace my wok with a new one: “Because I still remember when I bought this wok in Chinatown three decades ago. It was $23. This baby has produced countless dinners and never failed me. Let me tell you a story…”
As I’m standing in my kitchen on a Wednesday night seasoning my wok under the microwave light, I realize that this is how objects become sentimental. We imbue them with memories and experiences and all of a sudden a wok is not just a wok but a time capsule of the many times you’ve had someone over for dinner. And while you never remember what you talked about, the feeling of warmth and belly-aching laughter lingers. How wonderful it is to feed the stomach and soul.
Have a wonderful new year, and see you in 2023.
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The Recipe: Tomato and Egg Stir Fry
Serves: 2
Time: Mom says this takes 5 minutes. Personally, I think 10 is more realistic. Perhaps even the length of 5 songs. You let me know.
Ingredients
These measurements are meant to be imperfect. Adjust and scale up or down as you like. With this recipe, there is no “too much egg, too much tomato, etc.” The worst thing you could do is burn it all. But you know how to cook eggs so don’t stress. Trust your tastebuds.
3 eggs
~1/2 lb of tomatoes (250g)
This is ~2 medium-sized tomatoes or 2-3 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
1/4 - 1/2 yellow onion, diced
~3 tbsp olive oil (“a glug and a half”, to be exact)
1/2 - 1 tsp white sugar, to taste
The amount of sugar depends on how sweet your tomatoes are! If you are using cherry tomatoes, which are naturally sweeter, you may need less.
Salt, to taste
Cooking
Whisk eggs in a bowl with a pinch of salt and set aside.
Over medium-high heat, preheat a wok or pan until it is smoking. Be patient! This may take a few minutes depending on your stove. Once the wok is smoking hot, add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil.
Scramble the eggs then set them aside in a plate.
Turn the heat to medium. Add 1 more tbsp of olive oil to the wok, add in the diced onion and toss until they are fragrant (1-2 minutes). Stay attentive as you don’t want them to burn!
Add 1/2 of the chopped tomatoes, mix, and cook until the tomatoes start to release their juices, break down, and form a bit of a mush.
Add in the other 1/2 of the chopped tomatoes. (Mom likes to add the tomatoes in 2 parts as this adds a bit of ~textural variety~)
Add sugar to taste, cover the wok, and cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes have softened.
Uncover the wok, add in the scrambled eggs, stir to combine.
Salt to taste
Serve with steamed rice!
A Video For Visual Learners Like Me Except Apparently the Substack “Upload Video” Feature is Only Available For Some Authors So Here are Screenshots of an Instagram Story I Once Made Instead
This is the first dish I wrote down when my mom and I began recording recipes in 2020. It was the summer before my junior year of college and at the time, I was part of a club called the International Student Association. The exact sequence of events evade me, but somehow I wound up creating a story about how to make this dish for our club’s Instagram. See below:
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