Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry with Chicken (32g Protein)

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Tomato egg stir fry is the dish half of China cooks when nobody feels like cooking. The classic version is mostly egg and sauce, comfortable but light on protein. Add 400g of velveted chicken breast and the same 25 minute dinner lands at 32g of protein per serving.

It is saucy, slightly sweet, a little tangy, and built for spooning over rice. If you have never cooked it before, this is one of the easiest stir fries to get right because nothing needs to be crispy.

Why this works

Everything cooks in stages and meets at the end. Eggs scramble alone so they stay in soft, fat curds instead of disappearing into the sauce. The chicken gets a 10 minute velvet in cornstarch and soy, which is the difference between silky and chalky for breast meat. And the tomatoes cook last in the same pan, picking up the fond from the chicken while they collapse into sauce.

Ingredient notes

Ripe, soft tomatoes matter more than any other ingredient here. If yours are hard supermarket tomatoes, the spoonful of ketchup is not cheating, it is correction, and most Chinese home cooks I know use it. The sugar is not optional; it balances the acidity and is part of the dish’s identity. Eggs do a lot of work on this site, and if you want more of them, Chinese steamed eggs with minced pork is the silkiest version of the egg-plus-meat formula.

Chinese Tomato Egg Stir Fry with Chicken

The homestyle tomato and egg classic with velveted chicken breast added, turning a side dish into a 32g protein dinner.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 340

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 400 g chicken breast sliced thin against the grain
• 2 tsp cornstarch for velveting
• 1 tbsp soy sauce for velveting
• 6 large eggs
• 600 g ripe tomatoes about 4 large, cut into wedges
• 2.5 tbsp neutral oil divided
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp ketchup optional, deepens the sauce if tomatoes are pale
• 0.5 tsp salt plus more to taste
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 3 scallions, sliced

Method

 

1. Toss the sliced chicken with the cornstarch and soy sauce and let it sit while you prep everything else. This quick velvet keeps lean breast meat tender.
2. Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Cut the tomatoes into wedges over a bowl so you keep every drop of juice.
3. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok or wide pan over medium-high. Pour in the eggs and scramble in big folds until just set but still glossy, about 1 minute. They should look slightly underdone. Move them to a plate.
4. Add another 1 tbsp oil and stir-fry the chicken in one layer until just cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Move it to the egg plate.
5. Add the last 1/2 tbsp oil, then the tomatoes and their juice, the sugar, ketchup if using, and salt. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, pressing gently, until the wedges slump and release a loose sauce.
6. Return the chicken and eggs, fold everything together for 30 seconds, and turn off the heat. Finish with sesame oil and scallions. Taste for salt; tomatoes vary a lot.

Tips and storage

This keeps 3 days in the fridge and reheats well in the microwave because there is nothing crispy to lose. The sauce thickens overnight; loosen it with a spoonful of water. For meal prep, cook the rice separately and store it under the stir fry so it soaks up sauce as the week goes on. If you like this chicken and egg combination, oyakodon is the Japanese take on the same idea, and egg drop soup with shredded chicken turns it into something you can drink on a cold night.