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Tomato and egg is probably the most-cooked dish in China; adding beef turns it into a complete meal over rice. It's fast, it uses ingredients most kitchens already have, and the sauce does all the work.
The two things worth getting right are the beef marinade — which is what keeps thin slices of beef tender in a five-minute dish — and the eggs, which should be soft and barely set rather than scrambled dry.
The Five-Minute Marinade
Thinly sliced beef gets tossed with a little sugar, soy, dark soy, starch, and oil, then left for fifteen minutes. The starch forms a protective layer that keeps the meat from seizing in the pan; the oil keeps the slices from clumping.
This is the same velveting principle used across Chinese restaurant cooking, compressed into a weeknight version. It works on chicken and pork identically.
Slice the beef thinly across the grain. A short stint in the freezer firms it up and makes this much easier.
Eggs Cooked Soft, Not Scrambled
Two eggs beaten with a couple of tablespoons of milk or water. Pour into hot oil and let the bottom set for a few seconds, then push the curds toward the center with a spatula repeatedly until they're set but still glossy.
Take them out at about eighty percent done. They'll finish in the sauce and stay tender; if you cook them through now, they'll be rubbery later.
Pressing the Tomatoes
Peel the tomatoes — score a cross in the base, cover with boiling water for thirty seconds, and the skins slip off. Then cut them and cook them down, pressing with the spatula to force out the juice.
A spoonful of tomato paste or ketchup is not a cheat; most home cooks add it to deepen the color and round out the acidity of out-of-season tomatoes.
Finish with a starch slurry so the sauce clings to the rice rather than running to the bottom of the bowl.
Tomato, Silky Egg and Beef Rice Bowl
Ingredients
- 100 g (3.5 oz) beef sirloin or flank, thinly sliced across the grain
- For the marinade: 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp potato starch, 1 tbsp neutral oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tbsp milk or water
- 2 ripe tomatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 spring onion, sliced
- 1-2 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
- 150 ml (2/3 cup) water
- 1 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp potato starch mixed with 2 tbsp water (slurry)
- 2 portions steamed rice
Directions
- Toss the beef with the marinade ingredients and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Partially freezing the beef for 20 minutes first makes it much easier to slice thinly.
- Beat the eggs with the milk until smooth. Set aside.
- Peel the tomatoes: score a cross in the base of each, cover with boiling water for 30 seconds, then slip off the skins. Cut into wedges.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok over medium-high. Pour in the eggs and let the bottom set for a few seconds, then push the curds toward the center with a spatula, repeating until just set but still glossy. Remove.
- Add a little more oil. Add the beef in a single layer and let it sit for 20 seconds, then toss until it just changes color. Remove.
- Add the garlic and spring onion whites and fry briefly. Add the tomato wedges and cook, pressing with the spatula, until they release their juice and break down, about 3 minutes.
- Stir in the tomato paste, then add the water, sugar, salt, and oyster sauce. Bring to a simmer.
- Return the beef and egg to the pan and stir gently. Add the slurry and cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens and turns glossy.
- Spoon over the rice and finish with the spring onion greens.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
Notes
The starch in the marinade is what keeps the beef tender. Don't skip it, and don't skip the oil, which stops the slices sticking together.
Take the eggs out while they're still slightly underdone. They finish in the sauce.
Out-of-season tomatoes are bland and watery; the tomato paste compensates and most Chinese home cooks use it routinely.
Scale the beef up freely — it's the best part — but keep the egg-to-tomato ratio roughly as written.
Adapted from a home recipe on xiachufang.com.
