Tomato Egg Flower Soup [西红柿鸡蛋汤]

Tomatoes and eggs make a perfect match in Chinese cooking …good colors, texture, taste, etc. :)

One of the most authentic homemade Chinese dishes is called tomatoes with scrambled egges [西红柿炒鸡蛋]. Likewise, they both often appear in dinner soups like this one I will show you today… ah, pictures first, heheimg_2418

Beautiful & Delicious!

Beautiful & Delicious!

These pictures are from a few weeks ago…well, been a bit busy lately. So I was in a mood for some soup at the end of the dinner and this came to mind as the most convenient choice. In no time, it was on the table – and I was heavenly satisfied :)

What you need:

  • 1 fresh tomato (best to use cluster tomato, not rome tomato for better taste), diced
  • 1 egg stirred
  • cilantro, coarsely chopped
  • 1 can of Swanson vegetable broth
  • a few slices of fresh ginger root
  • maybe 2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed with cold water, well stirred

How to make the soup:

  1. In a sauce pan, drop a drizzle of oil
  2. When the pan gets hot, put in the ginger slices, stir – then tomatoes
  3. Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes to be softened, and the juice is out – pour half a can of vegetable broth, cover and bring to a boil
  4. Stir the mixture of corn starch and water very well before adding to the soup base
  5. Than add the stirred egg using one of the two ways: (1) drop the egg mixture into the pot through a chopstick; or (2) drop the egg mixture directly into the pot, but quickly stir the soup to create the “egg flowers”
  6. Let it soup simmer for a minute and turn the heat off before dropping in the chopped cilantros
  7. Yummy – enjoy! The taste of the soup comes from the ingredients, you may add salt/pepper to your own taste if it is too light for you…

Homemade Meals

This was my first day staying, working, and eating at home in a long time. It was such a great pleasure to enjoy homemade meals – and three of them!

Breakfast: Muesli

  • Soyogurt (with real vanilla)
  • Fresh blueberries
  • Banana slices
  • Pumpkin seeds

Lunch: Noodles

  • Japanese buckwheat noodles
  • Chili bean curd (famous brand 王致和 Wang Zhihe)
  • A touch of rice vinegar (镇江香醋)
  • Zucchini with mushrooms
  • Stir-fried cauliflower

Snacks: Nuts and Juice

  • Raw Spanish peanuts & walnuts, roasted salted cashew nuts & macadamia nuts
  • 1 QT of Odwalla antioxidant vitamin C micronutrient fruit juice drink

Dinner: Rice with kidney beans

  • Rice with kidney beans
  • Tomato with scrambled eggs (the most common Chinese homemade dish; well, I think my version tastes just a little better than my dad’s, hehe)
  • Asparagus and black fungus

Wow, my diet can’t get better than this. Maybe I should spend more time at home than in the PhD office!