Tomato and egg stir-fry isn't a main course, and hosts might even feel a little embarrassed to order it at a big banquet. But it is truly a dish that is perfect in color, aroma, and taste, refreshing, appetizing, and nutritious.
Key Point One: Simple Ingredients
1. Two eggs (Make a small portion; if there isn't enough for others, they'll be sure to remember you.)
2. Two tomatoes with a 6cm diameter. If you're using American tomatoes that are very large, say 12cm in diameter, then you should use 2×6×6×6/12/12/12=0.25 of a tomato. If you're using the delicate tomatoes from Jiangnan, then you should use 2×6×6×6/4/4/4=6.75 tomatoes! Note:
The ratio of eggs to tomatoes is crucial. If there's too little tomato, the scrambled eggs will taste bland, greasy, and dry. If there's too much tomato, it will be too sour, watery, and you won't get to enjoy the scrambled eggs properly. A good combination of ingredients is not the foundation of deliciousness, but also a guarantee of nutritional balance. Misconception:
Just toss in any leftovers from the previous meal. Why choose to put something that's a pity to throw away but useless to eat into your own stomach?
Key Point Two: Beat the Eggs Vigorously
What's emphasized here is beating the eggs, not just stirring them. Here's how it's done: After cracking the eggshell (if you're not yet skilled at cracking eggs and are unclear on the details, be sure to consult relevant sources first), pour the contents into a bowl. Use a pair of chopsticks to beat the eggs quickly. The trajectory of the chopsticks should be conical, with the apex directly above the bowl's rim and the base completely within the bowl, parallel to the rim's plane. Gradually, the egg whites and yolks will blend into one, and their texture and color will become indistinguishable. At this point, adjust the angle of your fingers and wrist holding the chopsticks, slowly making them as parallel to the bowl's rim as possible. This creates a new trajectory for the chopsticks: still a cone, but with its apex on the side of the bowl—specifically, on the plane extending from the rim—and its base is a circle perpendicular to the rim, with half the circle in the bowl and half above it. This is the real way to beat eggs.
Note: You must beat the eggs vigorously for a good while, gradually increasing the speed. The tips of the chopsticks should scrape the bottom of the bowl with every stroke, and the chopsticks should be submerged in the egg mixture as much as possible. Continue until, as the chopsticks move outside the bowl's rim, almost all the eggs leap out of the bowl's plane. Only when you stop beating and see a large amount of foam on the egg's surface can you consider the eggs properly beaten.
Misconception: Beating eggs is just to get a uniform texture. In fact, this beating creates many complex effects that are both chemical and physical, which can significantly improve the performance of the eggs once they hit the hot oil.
Key Point Three: Elevating the Eggs in the Wok
It's best to use a round-bottomed, thick-walled iron wok. Not only does it add iron to your diet, but more importantly, its strong heat conductivity along the wok's wall ensures even heating.
Pour in a quantity of edible oil equal to the amount of eggs (never use animal fat, as it's high in cholesterol and becomes greasy when the dish cools). When the oil is hot enough to seem like it's about to give off blue smoke, pour in the eggs without hesitation. Note:
1. Before adding the eggs, shake the wok to coat the bottom with oil. This prevents the eggs from sticking to the wok wall and burning.
2. The oil shouldn't be too hot, but it should be hotter than what you'd typically use for stir-frying meat.
3. Don't pour the eggs into the center of the oil. Pour them in large amounts along the edge where the oil meets the wok wall.
4. As soon as the eggs are in the wok, immediately stir them rapidly with a spatula or chopsticks. This allows the liquid egg trapped within the already-formed scrambled egg pieces to flow out, ensuring all the eggs are well-coated and exposed to the high heat of the oil.
Misconception: You can use a little less oil. The tenderness and flavor of the eggs depend on whether they are sufficiently soaked in high-heat oil. If you follow the instructions here, the eggs can indeed absorb a full portion of cooking oil.
Key Point Four: The Moisture of the Tomato Juice
When there is no oil left in the wok and the eggs are fully cooked, add the sliced tomatoes to the wok (you can wipe the bowl you used for the eggs before adding them). Stir a few times with a spatula. The key now is to quickly break the eggs into small pieces using the spatula. Break them up a bit, then stir, and repeat this process several times until the eggs are broken into 2-3cm pieces and are evenly mixed with the tomatoes. Note:
1. The tomatoes should be sliced thinly, but the slices should be large.
2. The stem end of the tomatoes must be removed.
3. The tomatoes do not need to be peeled.
4. The juice from the tomatoes when cutting should be added to the wok.
Misconception: Since they're going into the wok anyway, the tomatoes can be cut into chunks. I have nothing more to say; you might as well just boil the eggs and eat the tomatoes raw—it would be easier.
Key Point Five: Don't Overdo It
When the tomatoes in the wok seem to be starting to soften and release their juice, turn off the heat decisively. Add a suitable amount of salt, stir, and serve.
Note: Turning off the heat first and adding the salt just before serving is a secret to making tomato and egg stir-fry. You'll find that when you bring the dish to the table and then call your BF over, the tomatoes will have just released enough, perfectly fresh juice with the ideal flavor!
Misconception: Do something else right before serving. Poor soul, who can't trust that this is all a delicious meal requires and keeps thinking of ways to gild the lily—like adding MSG, pepper, cilantro, mashing the eggs into a pulp, cooking the tomatoes until they're mushy...