I had the pleasure of welcoming New York Times best-selling author Qian Julie Wang for the Season 3 finale of The Blue and Yellow Kitchen. Beautiful Country (affiliate link) traces her emigration to the United States at age 7 with her parents, what it was like to live undocumented and in poverty, and how disorienting it was to arrive in a strange new country without speaking the language. I found the book deeply moving and illuminating, giving me insights into how difficult immigrants’ lives truly are, and how much we don’t know about people who are limited in the language of their new country. I make tomatoes stir-fried with eggs, one of the most common breakfasts in northern China. Watch her episode below. Buy Beautiful Country wherever books are sold.
Tomatoes stir-fried with eggs
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rice medium- or long-grain white rice
- 1 cup water (filtered or spring) plus 1 tablespoon for the eggs
- 6 eggs
- 4 tbsp grapeseed oil divided use
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 stalks onions (green) white parts thinly sliced, green parts thinly sliced on the diagonal (separate use)
- 1 pound tomatoes ripe, skin removed, cut into wedges and de-seeded
- 1/4 tsp sea salt can omit for low-sodium, migraine, and Meniere's diet
- 1/2 tsp dark toasted sesame oil
Instructions
- Rinse and strain the rice 3 times or until the water runs clear. Bring to a boil with the 1 cup of water in a saucepan with the lid on (this takes about 5 minutes over high heat). Turn down to low and cook for 13 minutes without stirring. Turn off the heat and let sit for 5 minutes with the lid on.
- Beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon water in a bowl.
- In a large non-stick frying pan or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of the grapeseed oil over high heat just until it begins to smoke. Scramble the eggs using a spatula to push them around, just until barely set, about 1 minute. Remove the eggs to a bowl and wipe out the pan.
- Wipe out the pan, then add the remaining 2 tablespoons of the grapeseed oil and return to the heat. Add garlic and the white part of the green onions and saute about 1 minute, just until you smell the aromatics and they are starting to get some color.
- Add the tomatoes and half the salt (if using). Cook until the tomatoes are starting to break down into a sauce.
- Add the cooked eggs, breaking them up with a spatula as you stir. Add the remaining salt (if using) and the sesame oil.
- Put into bowls with some of the steamed rice and garnish with the remaining green onion.
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