Tomato Egg Fried Rice & the Fishy Bits
A couple of weeks ago I was reading a post from the Woks of Life, a lovely blog on Asian cooking. Their post was on a classic Chinese dish, Salted Fish Fried Rice. Salted Fish is a Cantonese ingredient made from white fish like croaker, salted and air-dried. This process concentrates the flavor of the fish, it’s salty, fish-forward, and well, kinda funky in a good way. Their twist was to substitute anchovies for the salted fish (hom yu, 鹹魚). My first thought was “Yum, I gotta try this, I think I have anchovies in my pantry”.
They also have a cookbook out and it’s gorgeous. If you need (who doesn’t) a cookbook that covers Chinese cuisine for the novice to seasoned cook, Woks of Life fits the bill. You can order it from Books, Inc. or in the Bay Area, from Omnivore Books which has signed copies.
Dad and Gung Gung 1940s
Tales of My Grandfather
As I read their post, memories of my grandfather bubbled to the surface. He lived in an SRO (single room only) in the heart of Chinatown above Sun Tai Sam Yuen Restaurant. It was convenient and comfortable for him. A line cook at Original Joe’s and at the Fairmont’s Tonga Room he walked to work from Chinatown. His neighbors, Cantonese men of similar age, had migrated to Gum San (San Francisco) looking for work.
The SRO had a communal kitchen and bathroom for the residents. The kitchen was fitted with a line of burners on one wall and a sink on the adjoining wall. On days we joined him for dinner, he shopped for fresh ingredients buying just what he needed for the meal. We trailed behind him from the kitchen to his room, taking in the aroma of the dishes he carried on a well-worn oval tray. My favs included steamed pompano, bok choy stir-fried with garlic, and steamed minced pork with salted fish or fermented black beans.
In his room, a pot of rice sat cooking on a single portable electric burner, wisps of steam rising telling us it was just about ready. Removing the lid revealed a small plate of Hom Yu topped with slivers of ginger perched on the rice. Gung Gung would place a small piece of this fish in each of our rice bowls. A delicious umami boost. I treasure those moments, having dinner with him and listening to his stories of growing up in China.
Intrigued by the Woks of Life’s post on using anchovies instead of the traditional salted fish. I put it to the test when Little Fat Boy Frankie’s recipe for Tomato Fried Rice appeared on my feed. His recipe included anchovies for the salted fish, cherry tomatoes, eggs, and rice. 🐟+🍅+🥚+🍚+🧅🧄🥬 = 🥢🥢 🥢 Let’s getting cooking.
The Fish “Switch” Is Going Down
Start by frying anchovies with the shallots, tomatoes, and seasonings until it becomes a jammy paste. I added ginger to the aromatics, reminiscent of my grandfather putting slivers of ginger on his salted fish. Ginger not only cuts the fishiness, it also adds a nice kick. If you like spice feel free to add some diced jalapenos too, that would be delish.
As the sauce cooks down, scramble the eggs and set aside. While I prefer runny eggs, feel free to scramble the eggs to your liking.
Next, increase the heat for the sauce to medium-high to high and add the rice. Give it a couple of good stirs to combine. Then, fold in the reserved halved tomatoes and finally the scrambled eggs. Toss to combine ingredients and warm the tomatoes. This will take a couple of minutes.
Once the tomatoes are heated through and everything is distributed well, the fried rice is ready. Garnish with cilantro and scallion greens, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
The anchovies provided a nice light, briny flavor to the fried rice. What it did not really add was that focus salty, briny punch you get from the bits of salted fish that do not break down as the anchovies do. If you grew up having traditional salted fish, you might notice it. But I do love this dish and plan to use anchovies again in place of my childhood favorite Hom Yu. If you have a jar or tin of anchovies in your pantry, give this a try!
Tomato Egg Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3 cups day-old cooked white rice or make 1 cup raw rice see notes on how to cook rice
Eggs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
- 5 eggs Scrambled and set aside
- Kosher salt
- white pepper
Aromatic Sauce
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 3 large shallots finely diced
- 3 garlic cloves thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger or finely slivered
- 8 ounces of grape tomatoes or sun gold about 1 1/4 cup, divided in half. Keep half of the tomatoes whole for the sauce. Cut remaining tomatoes in half, set aside.
- 5 anchovies from jar whole
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Oyster sauce or fish sauce to bump up the ocean flavor!
Toppings
- 4 scallions finely chopped white and green parts divided
- 2 tbsp Cilantro leaves
Instructions
Sauce
- Heat oil in a large pan or wok on medium heat. Add shallots, garlic, ginger, anchovies, 4 ounces of tomatoes (about 1/2 cup, save the other half for later), sesame oil, kosher salt, sugar, and rice vinegar. Optional: Add 1 tablespoon fish sauce or oyster sauce.
- Turn the heat down to low-medium to slowly cook the shallots and tomatoes, giving them the occasional stir. As the tomatoes soften, give them a little smash to release the juices. Cook the sauce until it looks jammy, about 10-15 minutes.
Scrambled Eggs
- While the sauce is cooking, beat eggs in a small bowl. Heat 1-2 tablespoons oil preferably in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the eggs and with a rubber heat-resistant spatula, push the eggs to move and tilt the pan to distribute and cook the eggs, will take around 30 seconds or so. I like the eggs soft and runny so I take it off the heat while the eggs look a little wet. They will cook further when it is added to the rice. For firmer, set eggs, turn the heat off, and continue scrambling the eggs on the residual heat until the eggs are firm. Season with kosher salt to taste. Remove and set aside.
Putting it All together for Rice
- Once the sauce is cooked, add the rice and remaining 4 ounces of tomatoes cut in halves, then add the scrambled eggs. Mix everything together, breaking up the curds of eggs just a bit. Fry for a couple minutes, making sure everything is combined well and the tomatoes are warmed through, 3-5 minutes. Season with salt & white pepper, or acid to taste. Remove from heat, top with scallion greens and cilantro leaves, and serve.
Notes
Wash rice 1 cup of white rice thoroughly until the water is more or less clear, then drain. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan on medium-high heat. Add rice and stir while pan frying for about a minute until the rice has absorbed the oil and the grains look semi- transparent. Add water and bring to a simmer, then turn the heat down to low and cover. Cover and cook without touching the grains for 20 minutes. Once cooked, turn the heat off and leave it to steam in the residual heat for another 10 minutes or so. Uncover and fluff with a fork, then set aside in a container. Or after frying the rice in the pan, throw it in your rice cooker and cook as directed 😉