Mr. Zheng's Soupy Tomatoes and Eggs with Tofu (蕃茄雞蛋跟豆腐)

JS:
As we've noted before, it's only recently that we've fallen in love with stir-fried tomato and eggs, Chinese-style.

Apparently, it's a classic home-style Chinese dish, served all over China and Chinese households beyond. Since we never had this particular dish growing up, does that mean we're really not Chinese? ;)

Growing up, we've had the tomato-and-egg combination, but usually in the form of tomatoes and hard-boiled eggs, like in mangga ensalada. (See here and here.)



JS:
In this TOFU edition of Weekend Wokking, we reclaim our Chinese heritage with Mr. Zheng's Soupy Tomatoes and Eggs with Tofu 蕃茄雞蛋跟豆腐.

We're not actually related to Mr. Zheng: I saw this dish on EatingAsia and have been fantasizing about it ever since. Of course, I have also been fantasizing quite fervently about wandering down those food alleys that we didn't find or even know about when we went to Taiwan. Do read the EatingAsia post as it is quite amusing.

Doesn't the conversation sound familiar? Seems like it was only yesterday that TS -- albeit vicariously through AL -- had the same conversation. The conversation along the lines of "I already told you. . ."



Northern-style Tofu


TS:
JS picked up a couple of tubs of this "Northern Style Tofu" at our usual supermarket. Upon smelling/tasting it, it had more of a "soy milk" aroma and flavor than the usual tofu we buy. It was also a bit rougher in texture.

Does anybody know exactly what differentiates this Northern-style tofu from others? And in what applications it is used?

I thought it would work quite well in this dish.


Look at the bottom of the pile. There they are, the two blocks of tofu.

TS:
I weighed down the 2 blocks of Northern-style tofu for about 30 minutes or so before using. Finally, we're putting these cookbooks to good use! ;)


Just some of the chopped tomatoes we used.

TS:
As home-style dishes should be, this one was quite easy and fuss-free. Let's begin!



TS:
To begin, I dumped the majority of my chopped tomatoes into a pot over medium heat. I waited until they were "soupy", then carefully poured in beaten eggs to form a layer on top. I turned the heat to low and covered the pot.



TS:
When the egg had cooked, I added the chopped tofu and the rest of the chopped tomatoes. I carefully mixed everything together. All the seasoning that this needs is salt and sugar.



TS:
Well, I didn't seem to stir carefully enough, as the eggs broke up more than I would've liked. But, that is the beauty of this dish: it doesn't really matter. Do what you desire. Want it saltier? Add more salt. Want it sweeter? Add more sugar. I would add more eggs next time, I think.



JS:
What we ended up might be something that's between a soup and a stew but still all of delicious. Serve with white rice, add even more scallions (I love scallions) and dig in. You don't have to be a "real" Chinese to enjoy this dish: even us "fake" ones love it just fine.


Recipe
EatingAsia: About That Egg and Tomato Dish...
The dish really is simple to make. If you would like a recipe, do visit EatingAsia and read all about Mr. Zheng's dish.

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eatingclub vancouver Weekend Wokking posts:
Ravioli "Caprese": Tomato, Basil, Bocconcini
Eggplant "Clafouti"
Bibingka
Pumpkin Congee w/ Pumpkin "Beignets" & Sesame-Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese w/ Pipián Verde
Adobo Mushroom Tart
Duck and Orange Crêpes with Orange-White Wine Sauce
Almond Eggplant "Bisteeya" (Bastilla)
"Mashed Potato Beef Burger" (Red-skinned Potato Salad in Taiwanese Sacha Cheeseburger)
Korean Soybean Sprouts Pancake (Kongnamul Jeon)
Lemon Chamomile Tiramisu
Cilantro Horchata
Strawberry Cilantro Salsa, on Grilled Flank Steak
Duck Enchiladas with Chipotle Peanut Salsa
Clear Oxtail Soup with Corn, Cabbage and Potatoes
Beijing Pickled Cabbage
Salsa Romesco ("Queen of the Catalan Sauces!")
Aguadito de Pollo (Peruvian Chicken Soup)
Bangus Belly à la Bistek (Milkfish Belly with Onions, Calamansi and Soy Sauce)
White Pork with Garlic Sauce, Two Ways (蒜泥白肉)
Mr. Zheng's Soupy Tomatoes and Eggs with Tofu (蕃茄雞蛋跟豆腐)
Steamed Fish and Tofu with Chinese Black Beans
Spinach and Cheese with Puff Pastry, Three Ways

We're submitting this recipe to Weekend Wokking, a world-wide food blogging event created by Wandering Chopsticks celebrating the multiple ways we can cook one ingredient.

The host this month is Sweatha of Tasty Curry Leaf.

If you would like to participate or to see the secret ingredient, check who's hosting next month.

Check out all Weekend Wokking Roundups.

Some eggy eatingclub dishes
Tarragon-Carrot Deviled Eggs
Golden Egg Torta
Hunanese Stir-fried Eggs with Green Peppers
Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish "Omelette")
Piedmont Marinated Eggs
Asparagus and Crab Egg Crêpes
Stir-fried Egg and Tomato
Oyster Torta
Torta with Pork and Kecap Manis
Curried (Easter) Egg Salad
Taiwanese Stewed Eggs (滷蛋) with Stewed Minced Pork (魯肉 or 肉燥)
Longsilog (Longganisa + Sinangag + Itlog)
Torta (Mexican Sandwich)
Mr. Zheng's Soupy Tomatoes and Eggs with Tofu
Nasi Lemak (Malaysian Coconut Rice Meal with Sambal)
Home-style Chinese Steamed Egg with Pork
Golden Shrimp Torta (Philippine Shrimp Omelette)

Shourabit Silq bi Laban (Lebanese Chard and Yogurt Soup)

TS:
I was so very intrigued by the Yogurt Soup over at Choosy Beggars. However, Tina's yogurt soup was served with shish barak, tiny, tiny, tiny meat dumplings. They looked very labor-intensive, and I cannot have that!

So, I decided to make the yogurt soup but add chickpeas instead. We also happened to have a bunch of Swiss chard lying around, so I thought I'd add that too.

Well, imagine my happiness when it turns out that there is actually such a Lebanese dish! Here's my Shourabit Silq bi Laban (Lebanese Chard and Yogurt Soup).

Well, I wanted to say "Yogurt Soup with Chard and Chickpeas", but I had the hardest time trying to find out how. Are chickpeas simply called "hummus"?



TS:
Anyway, just shourabit silq bi laban it is!

Swiss Chard


TS:
I decided to cook the swiss chard separately, wilting them in a pan and seasoning them with salt.

Za'atar Pan-roasted Chickpeas


TS:
Instead of simply plopping the chickpeas into the soup, I decided to "pan-roast" (or sauté) them first.



TS:
There's our little jar of za'atar. (Hey, that rhymes!)

In this case, this was a blend of dried thyme and sesame seeds, and... I couldn't tell nor can I remember what else is in there. =)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Za'atar



TS:
I placed a smashed garlic clove into a pan and started heating it up with some olive oil. I removed the garlic when it started to brown. When the pan was smoking hot, I added the drained and dried canned chickpeas.

I sprinkled in some za'atar and salt, and cooked the chickpeas until toasted.



Making the Soup


TS:
Making the soup was as simple as following Tina's recipe.

I cooked chopped onions and garlic in olive oil until soft, then added some rice. After a couple of minutes, I sprinkled in some red chili flakes. I added water and cooked the mixture over low heat until the rice was cooked. The yogurt went in last, and I seasoned with salt and pepper.



TS:
For the purposes of the blog, I ladled the yogurt soup into bowls and added the cooked chard and za'atar chickpeas on top. I even garnished with dried mint.

After all the photo-taking was done, I dumped everything into the soup.

But, a warning to you all. When using Swiss chard, make sure they have white stems and not these red (or even yellow) stems. When I looked into the pot the next day, my yogurt soup had turned pink! It was a little disturbing.


Say "No!" to pink stems!

TS:
Anyway, the soup was still delicious. I recommend adding a fried egg to your bowl. The rich yolk melds quite beautifully with the acidity of the yogurt. With that and the greens and chickpeas, this is quite the little meal.



Recipe
Choosy Beggars: Shish Barak - Yogurt Soup with Meat and Parsley Stuffed Dumplings

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Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)

TS:
Turon, how I love you...

Lucky for us, JS' godmother, Auntie B, would make turon for us seemingly upon a moment's notice from Mama. Mama tells us that Auntie B's own children have remarked that they themselves are not usually privileged enough for their mother to make them turon! ;)

Auntie B is the same person who would also make Bola-bola (Philippine meatballs) for us, seeing as we're a little frying-averse.



TS:
On one such fortunate occasion, a year or so ago, I took the opportunity of photographing Auntie B's always perfect-looking turon.

In the Philippines, one would make turon with a different type of banana (or plantain, actually) altogether,called saba, and perhaps add in some langka (jackfruit) as well. But, we have now more or less resigned ourselves to the regular ol' banana.

Market Manila: Saba or Cooking Bananas
Wikipedia: Langka (Jackfruit)
Wikipedia: Banana-cue, Turon and Arroz a la Cubana



TS:
To make them -- not that I've had occasion to with our frying-laziness and Auntie B's generosity -- one simply wraps bananas in egg roll wrappers and fries them up! If you so wish, dredge the banana pieces in brown sugar before wrapping in the wrapper.

See, it's easy!

These turon will be the death of me. If placed before me, I have no choice but to keep eating them until every single one is gone.

2 pieces? Too few. 5 pieces? Um, is there more? 10 pieces? Well, that's quite a lot for a "snack", but they're just too good, bursting stomach be damned.

More eatingclub Philippine/Filipino food

eatingclub banana
Boiled Saba (Burro Banana) with Condensed Milk
Caribbean "Fish n' (Banana) Chips"
Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)
Minatamis na Saba (Philippine Boiled Saba Banana)

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Recipe
Turon (Philippine Banana Spring Roll)

The quantities are completely up to you.

Slice bananas lengthwise, if desired.

If you wish, dredge banana pieces in brown sugar first.

Then, place banana piece on a large egg roll wrapper and wrap. Fold up the bottom to cover the banana, fold in the right and left sides, and roll up until the wrapper is closed. Moisten the top flap of the wrapper to seal.

In a pan, heat oil over medium/medium-low heat. Shallow-fry or deep-fry turon until golden brown.


For showcasing BANANAS, we're submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging, a world-wide food blogging event (created by Kalyn's Kitchen, now maintained by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once) with the goal of helping each other learn about cooking with herbs and plant ingredients.

If you'd like to participate, see who's hosting next week. WHB is hosted this week by Janet of the taste space.

Japchae / Jap Chae (Korean Glass Noodles with Vegetables)

JS:
I'm not a big fan of jap chae (also known as chop chae, job chae), but I always order it when we go to Korean restaurants, probably out of a sense of obligation. I feel like I should like jap chae, but in any case, even if I don't, I know my family members love this noodle dish enough to finish it without my help.

One fine day here in eatingclubvancouverland, my sense of obligation lined up with my desire to get a good deal. When I saw some sweet potato noodles (dangmyun/dangmyeon) on sale, marketed as "Korean traditional food," I thought I'd get them and try to make jap chae at home.

TS:
Well, unlike JS, I love jap chae! I was excited to cook some at home.



TS:
Jap chae can take on various ingredients. In our case, I had onions, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions and garlic. We also had beef, so I added that as well.

To prepare the sweet potato starch noodles, I cooked them in boiling water until tender, then added soy sauce and sesame oil to taste. I also cut them with scissors at this point for ease of eating.

I followed the more "traditional" method of making jap chae by cooking each ingredient separately, seasoning each with a bit of soy sauce and sesame oil, then tossing everything together with the boiled glass noodles.

I added a bit of sugar (or use honey), made a quick adjustment of the seasonings (soy sauce and sesame oil) and the dish was good to go.

Since I am pretty lazy, next time I am going to cook the non-noodle ingredients all at once, adding them to one pan in the order of longest to shortest cooking time.



JS:
Still not a fan -- that is, I probably wouldn't choose to eat jap chae if there are other dishes to have -- but I can see the appeal of it. I'm thinking food preferences must be one of those things, eh? Either you like it or you don't: no harm, no foul, no judgments.

TS:
Let me be the one to "flame" JS, then. FLAME! FLAME! FLAME!

I love jap chae. =)


Scroll down for recipes.

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Recipes
Maangchi: Japchae (stirfried noodle with vegetables)
Tasty Meals at Home: Tasty Jap Chae
Kits Chow: Stir-fried noodles with vegetables, Chap Jae
Steamy Kitchen: Korean Glass Noodles -- Jap Chae / Chap Chae
Dr. Ben Kim: How to Make Jap Chae

eatingclub vancouver Korean
Korean Sprouts & Spicy Cold Cucumber Salad
Kimchi Fried Rice, an addiction
Korean Soybean Sprouts Pancake (Kongnamul Jeon)
Korean Pork Bulgogi (with Muu Namul, Kong Namul)
Korean Roast Salmon
Korean Fried Chicken
Korean Sweet Potatoes with Yangnyeom Sauce
Japchae / Jap Chae (Korean Glass Noodles with Vegetables)
Brown Rice Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl)
Korean Oxtail Soup (Gom Tang)

Hunanese Stir-fried Eggs with Green Peppers

TS:
Man, another Fuchsia Dunlop recipe? She should be paying us for advertising her book so heavily! Not that she actually needs us to advertise her books for her. ;)

JS:
She might have needed some help with the advertising before she came out with Land of Plenty, her Sichuanese cookbook. Compared to the Hunan book (Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook), Land of Plenty seems decidedly low-budget.

Anyhoo, the pictures in the Hunan book are glossy, thereby inspiring us to cook some more dishes from it.

This is a simple home-style dish, perfect for those days when going meatless is our heart's desire.

TS:
Yes, non-spicy Hunan dishes do exist. ;)

Although, there is nothing specifically Hunanese about this; it can live quite happily within a number of cuisines.



TS:
It really is as simple as cooking some green peppers, adding beaten eggs, and cooking some more.



TS:
The key for me, however, is the "wok-hei" flavor of the peppers, not that I proclaim to know how to properly achieve wok-hei. But see how the peppers are a little bit charred?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wok_hei#Wok_hei



TS:
We used green bell peppers for this dish as per the recipe. I recall reading in the book that the Hunanese use green peppers often in their cooking.

JS speculated that perhaps that is why we keep seeing small green bell peppers at our usual Asian supermarket. Perhaps they stock these as there seems to be more people from mainland China now (as opposed to people from Hong Kong or Taiwan like days of yore).

In the introduction to the recipe, however, Fuchsia (first name basis) talks about the "lazy piquancy" of the peppers in this dish, and how she uses Turkish peppers with a "gentle hotness".

Hmm, these bell peppers had no heat at all.

JS:
When we ate a Hunan restaurant a couple of weeks ago, one of their dishes was "Pork with Green Chili", for which they used completely de-seeded and de-ribbed jalapeños. I assume this is because the green chiles they use in Hunan is not readily available here.

I missed the hint of heat in this dish, so for next time, I think we'll go the seeded jalapeño route.



eatingclub Hunan dishes
Hunanese Chopped Salted Chiles (剁辣椒)
Mao's Hunan Red-Braised Pork (毛氏紅燒肉)
Steamed Red-Braised Pork with Pickled Mustard Greens (酸菜蒸紅燒肉)
Hunanese Stir-fried Eggs with Green Peppers
Hunanese Steamed Chicken with Salted Chiles (剁辣椒蒸雞)

Some eggy eatingclub dishes
Tarragon-Carrot Deviled Eggs
Golden Egg Torta
Hunanese Stir-fried Eggs with Green Peppers
Tortilla de Patatas (Spanish "Omelette")
Piedmont Marinated Eggs
Asparagus and Crab Egg Crêpes
Stir-fried Egg and Tomato
Oyster Torta
Torta with Pork and Kecap Manis
Curried (Easter) Egg Salad
Taiwanese Stewed Eggs (滷蛋) with Stewed Minced Pork (魯肉 or 肉燥)
Longsilog (Longganisa + Sinangag + Itlog)
Torta (Mexican Sandwich)
Mr. Zheng's Soupy Tomatoes and Eggs with Tofu
Nasi Lemak (Malaysian Coconut Rice Meal with Sambal)
Home-style Chinese Steamed Egg with Pork
Golden Shrimp Torta (Philippine Shrimp Omelette)

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Recipe
Stir-Fried Eggs with Green Peppers
from Fuchsia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province

9 oz. green bell peppers
4 extra-large eggs
salt
3 tbsp. peanut oil for cooking

Discard stems of the peppers and cut on an angle into bite-size chunks. Beat the eggs with salt to taste in a small bowl.

Smear the wok with a little oil and heat over a medium flame. Add the bell peppers and stir-fry for about 5 minutes, pressing them against the side of the wok with your wok scoop/ladle, until they are fragrant and tender, their skins a little golden and puckered.

Add the rest of the oil, and when it is hot, pour in the eggs and mix well. Scramble the eggs and peppers, adding a little more salt to taste, if necessary. Don't stir the eggs too constantly so they set into folds. When the eggs are just cooked, turn onto a serving dish.

Chocolate Black Bean Bites

TS:
This all started because of our new "healthy lifestyle" (which somehow includes binging on potato chips and late at night too -- but only the good ones, of course). I read somewhere that one could make brownies using a brownie mix and substituting puréed black beans for the egg(s) and oil.

I don't usually crave sweet things, but brownies are a favorite. So, this piece of news was perfect! For some reason the idea of using beans appealed to me. Call me strange.

The problem was, obviously, that we didn't have any brownie mix in the house. Obviously. ;)

I wasn't about to run to the store and get a box of brownie mix. That requires effort. So I thought I should just take a brownie-from-scratch recipe and omit the eggs and fat, then add the puréed beans. It should work.



TS:
There it is, the secret ingredient.

I used Alton Brown's Cocoa Brownie recipe. I didn't want to go through the hassle of chopping chocolate, so just cocoa it is. I omitted the eggs -- all 4 of them -- and the butter.

It was a bit "challenging", since the first instruction in the recipe was to beat eggs and sugar together until fluffy. Hmm. No matter. I simply mixed together all the ingredients: sugar, cocoa, flour, vanilla and salt. Then, I added the black beans.



TS:
It sure looked like brownie batter. Into the 300F oven the pan went.

While I was waiting for them to bake, I started browsing online and came upon a "real" Black Bean Brownie recipe. Reading through it, I started thinking that omitting the eggs -- all 4 of them -- may be a mistake.

I believe that brownie mixes often call for just one egg. Is that correct? This recipe called for 4 eggs. Surely they must be good for something! How are my brownies to rise? (Do eggs make brownies rise?) Or do whatever it is that the eggs are supposed to make them do?

I should've searched online first before starting anything!

Well, it was too late. I checked my brownies after a while, but I couldn't tell if they were cooked enough or not! So I left them in the oven for 15 more minutes, making the total baking time one whole hour. That may have been a tad too long.



TS:
There they are after a stint in the refrigerator overnight, as I wanted them to firm up for cutting. The top had a sheen to it. Strange.

I tried a piece.



TS:
It certainly wasn't bad! But, I don't know if it was the lack of eggs, or the long time they spent in the oven, or a combination of the two factors, but the texture wasn't cake-y, nor was it fudge-y. Hence, I am calling them "bites" instead. ;)

Of course, I still prefer "real" brownies.

But, the next time I do try these again, I'll use an actual black bean brownie recipe instead of making one up myself. I don't know what's going on with this baking, I tell you.



TS:
Obviously there's no use in me giving you the recipe for what I made. So, here are a few links to real recipes. have cake, will travel has THREE versions of black bean brownies! Her recipes don't call for eggs either, being vegan. So perhaps my version wasn't too botched up. =)

Alton Brown: Cocoa Brownies
101 Cookbooks: Amazing Black Bean Brownies Recipe
have cake, will travel: Activist Mommy's Vegan Brownies
have cake, will travel: Adapted Black Bean "Brownies"
have cake, will travel: No-Bake Black Bean "Brownies"

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