Stir Fried Tomato and Eggs

I promise, the next post won't be about tomatoes. Cross my heart.

This dish isn't much to look at, but it's easy comfort food that I've been eating since I was a kid. I don't know why it took me so long to realize I should give it a try with heirloom tomatoes. I guess it's usually something people make with tomatoes that aren't too good! The Chinese name of this dish is tomato fried eggs, so it's pretty obvious what the two ingredients are.

To make a big plate, slice two tomatoes into very thin wedges. Some people like to use chunky tomatoese, but I don't like the outside edge of my slices to be thicker than a quarter inch. Sautee the tomatoes over medium heat in a tablespoon of olive oil, and add a sprinkling of salt along with about a teaspoon of sugar. Yes, sugar! Stir the tomatoes until they are cooked through and the juices that come out of them have started to evaporate off. Then push the tomatoes to the side of the pan so there's a doughnut hole in the middle. Put a teaspoon of oil in the middle and pour in two beaten eggs. Let the eggs cook for five or ten seconds, then scramble them without touching the tomatoes too much. When the eggs are more than halfway cooked, stir the tomatoes back into the center and combine everything evenly. Top with some black pepper, and eat over rice.

Note: there are a million ways to do this. My mom liked to scramble the eggs halfway, set them aside, use the same pan to cook the tomatoes, then add the eggs back in at the last second. I've seen other people do the opposite. I think my mom's way makes for the neatest presentation, and I do it if I have to serve it to other people. But my way really gets the tomato and egg flavors to combine and makes for a great sauce to mash into rice. Try it both ways!