Easy Tomato Egg Noodles ft. Dried Knife-Cut Noodles
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 2 whole eggs
- splash Shaoxing cooking wine or any liaojiu
- ¼ teaspoon salt, divided
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water
- 2 portions dried knife-cut noodles approx. 60-75g per person—these expand greatly when cooked, I take the lower end
- drizzle neutral oil, enough to coat pan
- 1 clove fresh garlic, peeled and minced
- 2 plum tomatoes, unpeeled, thickly sliced (off-center)
- dash sugar
- dash MSG
- 1 scallion green, finely sliced for garnish
- toasted sesame oil (Cuizi preferred) for garnish
- ground white pepper for garnish, optional
- chili oil for garnish, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together the 2 eggs, splash of liaojiu and ⅛ teaspoon of the salt.In another small bowl, whisk together the ½ tablespoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water.
- Boil a pot of water for the noodles. Let them cook according to package instructions while you make the tomato egg topping.
- Heat a nonstick pan or wok over high heat. Add a generous drizzle of neutral oil. When the oil shimmers and runs like water when tilted, pour in the egg mixture (if the oil/heat is enough, it may even puff up—this is good!) and immediately turn the heat low. Continually lift/push the sides of the egg with a nonstick spatula while tilting the pan, allowing the runny portion on top to slide onto the exposed pan and create a new layer of egg. Repeat all around, pushing the curds aside and cooking gently until the egg is 90% cooked. Turn off the heat. Use the spatula to chop it into bite-size pieces and depan into the serving bowl. The egg will finish cooking from residual heat and the final stir-fry.
- Heat a drizzle of oil. Once shimmering, add the minced garlic and bloom briefly until fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes. Let the tomatoes get hot and start simmering, then add a splash of water (approx. 1 tablespoon). Simmer for 1 minute or until soft. Add the remaining ⅛ teaspoon of salt and a generous dash of sugar and MSG. Adjust seasoning to taste and stir-fry briefly to combine.Give the cornstarch slurry a fresh mix, then add it to the pan. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute or until thickened to your liking, pushing to stir. At the last moment, add the eggs back, coating with the tomato mixture. Garnish with sliced green onion and toasted sesame oil and depan on to two bowls of portioned noodles. (You can also add the noodles directly from the pot into the pan, so the starchy noodle water helps bind the sauce.) Serve with additional ground white pepper and traditional Sichuan chili oil, as desired.
Notes
Some people like to add a spoonful of tomato ketchup to boost the flavor. Go for it however you like!
If your noodle game is especially strong, try boiling the noodles just short of al dente (about a minute less than package instructions). Add them to the tomato egg mix with a splash of noodle-cooking water and let the extra starches help bind the sauce to the noodles. Just like with pasta. I find this helps the flavor soak in even better. It's also easier to season to taste in the pan. The sauce can be as thick or soupy as you like, it's really up to you.
To make Kathy's family's Sichuan homestyle lajiaoyou using roasted rapeseed oil and fragrant-hot ground chilies, see her Traditional Sichuan Chili Oil recipe. Or, for the ultra-mouthwatering 香辣 (xiānglà)/fragrant-hot version, see the Aromatic Sichuan Chili Oil recipe!