Chinese egg and tomato

Chinese egg and tomato served with sticky rice

Simple, quick and delicious, this is my go-to dish if I don't know what to have for dinner. The dish has two main ingredients- egg and tomato. The cooked tomatoes and soft scrambled eggs makes a really saucy and satisfying dish which tastes amazing served with sticky rice. 

I first discovered this dish when myself and three girl-friends were travelling to Hainan, an island off the south coast of China, from Shanghai for Autumn festival. We had not long been in China and we thought it would be nice to get some sun before the Shanghai winter set in. We (somehow) managed to book a last minute train and decided a 40 hour train journey (one way!) on a HARD SEAT was a small price to pay for a tropical beach holiday in the 'Hawaii of Asia'. Around 28 hours in we were sleep deprived, achey, dirty and a little bit delusional, so we decided to take a walk to find the 'restaurant carriage'. We found it, but the staff would not let us in, we weren't sure what they were saying so we plonked ourselves down at a table regardless. In the end they stopped arguing with us and gave us a plate of egg and tomato to share and a bowl of sticky rice each. 

I later found out this dish is called 'xihongshi chao jidan' and is a staple in China, usually served as a breakfast dish (although you can order it anytime). Oh and I also found out the train's 'restaurant carriage' was only for staff. Oops. 

This story wouldn't be complete without also telling you that after 32 hours of our train journey, the train stopped and passengers were told to get off due to a typhoon hitting the south coast of China. With no trains continuing to Hainan we instead spent the next week exploring Nanning province in wet and windy weather (with little more than a few summer maxi dresses to wear). 

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

• 4 eggs (2 per person) 
• 3 large tomatoes 
• 1 spring onion (optional)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup (optional)
• 2 tablespoons cooking oil

Method:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat.

2. Chop the tomatoes into 0.5- 1cm thick wedges.

3. Finely chop up the spring onion.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pan and pour in the eggs.

3. Scramble the eggs over medium heat just until all the runny egg is cooked.

4. Remove the eggs from the pan, place in a bowl and set aside.

5. Add another 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.

5. Next place the half of the chopped spring onion and all of the tomatoes in the pan.

6. Add the salt, sugar and ketchup and stir. 

7. Place a lid over the pan and cook for around 2 minutes. 

8. Remove the lid and add the eggs.

9. Mix the scrambled eggs evenly into the tomato sauce.

10. Turn off the heat, serve on a plate, garnish with the rest of the spring onion and enjoy :)

vegetarian

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The perfect dippy egg!

While at University I perfected the art of cooking eggs: poached, scrambled, fried, soft-boiled...you name it, I can do it! So here is my fail-safe guide to cooking perfect eggs every time!

I start with the all time favourite soft-boiled egg (or dippy egg): delicious seasoned with salt and pepper and served with buttered soldiers (with a lick of marmite) and a cuppa.







Ingredients: 

• Egg(s) 
• Water 

Method: 

1. Place egg(s) in a saucepan and cover with water.
2. Bring to the boil.
3. As soon as the water starts bubbling- start your timer!
4. Large eggs: 4-4.5minutes, Small/Medium eggs: 3.5-4 minutes.
5. Once the timer goes off, turn off the heat and serve. 

TOP TIP! If you are unsure whether your egg is cooked properly, take the egg out of the water, carefully crack open the top with a knife and check if the egg white is cooked enough. If it's still a bit runny/transparent, don't worry, simply pop the top back on the egg, wrap the egg tightly in tinfoil and place back in the boiling water for up to a minute.

savoury

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Easy peasy poached eggs

Poached egg with avocado, bacon and brown toast

Love poached eggs but never sure how to make them? Not got a pan big enough to make more than two at a time? Don't worry, with this method you won't ever be swirling or vinegar-ing your water again!

For this guide, I owe credit to my mother. She discovered and taught me this method and I have never looked back since. There is just one essential element to this recipe- coffee filter bags. You can find coffee filter bags in most supermarkets for very little money and usually come in packs of 50-100. You will need one bag per poached egg.

I have included photos below the recipe to help demonstrate how to use the bags.

Ingredients:

• Egg(s)
• Water
• Coffee Filter Bag

Method: 

1. Fill (about 3/4 full) a small saucepan with cold water and bring to the boil.
2. Once the water has started boiling, get a mug or glass and place the coffee filter bag in the mug, so the opening of the bag is facing upwards and is wide open.
3. Crack 1 egg into the coffee filter bag and quickly place the bag into the boiling water
4. Repeat if poaching multiple eggs.
5. Put the timer on for about 4 minutes for 1 egg, and 5-5.5 minutes for more than 4 eggs.
6. Once the timer has gone off, turn off the heat, drain each egg on a slotted spoon, and serve.

Serving suggestion:
Serve eggs on a brown toast with mashed avocado and topped with crispy bacon. YUM.

savoury

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