Chinese Tofu and Eggs

Close up of a grey bowl of tofu, eggs, white rice and spring onion slices.

One of my favourite places to find good Chinese recipes online (aside from The Woks of Life and Eat Cho Food) is Omnivores Cookbook, and the other night I made their brilliant egg and tofu stir fry which resulted in a quick, cheap, store cupboard dinner I could not stop thinking about. But, one of the challenges cooking American recipes in a British kitchen is that sometimes the measurements don’t quite work out and you’re left with little ends of things in the packet, or the flavours don’t quite 100% translate.

In this case, I was left with an annoying little bit of silken tofu that was too small to scramble up for breakfast the next day, and the end result was slightly to salty, reflecting our different products, but I loved the idea of this 10-minute Chinese Tofu and Eggs Stir Fry (Ji Dan Bao Dou Fu) I got to work on a version that would work perfectly in a British kitchen. I hope you end up loving it as much as I do!

Close up of a grey bowl with tofu and eggs, Jasmine rice and sliced spring onions.
Grey striped bowl of stir fried tofu, eggs, jasmine rice and sliced spring onions.

Ingredients

Obviously you can use whatever brands of things you have to hand, as you can always tweak this recipe to suit your own tastes. However, these are the key ingredients I used to ensure you get perfect results first time:

  • Soy Sauce: when I call for ‘soy sauce’ in a recipe I mean all-purpose dark Chinese soy sauce, in this case Amoyad brand (they sent me my current bottle, but I’ve been buying it since I first started to learn to cook as a teenager) but I also buy Lee Kum Leead when it’s the brand available where I’m shopping. The original recipe called for light soy sauce, which is saltier, and made the dish a bit too salty for British ingredients and tastes.
  • Oyster Sauce: I also use Lee Kum Lee’s Panda Oyster Saucead, but Waitrose also make a good one.
  • Chilli Oil: Funnily, I’m not a fan of Lee Kum Lee’s Chilli Crisp, but I’ve recently become a massive fan of White Mausu’s Smoky Chilli Oil. I use just the oil from the top of the jar in this, as I’ve found adding the chunky bits overwhelms the dish a bit too much.
  • Silken Tofu: I’ve specifically written this recipe for a block of Clearspring’s Silken Tofu as I’ve found it is sold pretty much everywhere tofu is sold, and it’s helpfully shelf-stable.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I half or scale up this Chinese Tofu and Eggs recipe?

Yes! Scaling up is easy, and as for making it a serves one it all the ingredients halve easily. The leftover tofu can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days to make another portion, to be used in another recipe, or to make a tofu scramble seasoned with a touch of turmeric and garlic powder.

What sort of rice should I serve with this recipe?

I like jasmine rice and the 12 minutes cooking time works really well with the timings, but for an even speedier fix I like Tilda’s Microwave Sticky Rice Pouches.

Close up of cubes of silken tofu with scrambled eggs in a spicy sauce.

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Close up of cubes of silken tofu with scrambled eggs in a spicy sauce.

Chinese Tofu and Eggs

  • Author: Rachel
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 5 minutes
  • Total Time: 10 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 2
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stir Fry
  • Cuisine: Chinese
  • Diet: Gluten Free

Description

This quick, tasty Chinese Tofu and Egg Stir Fry is ready in just 10-minutes, using store cupboard ingredients for a punchy, protein-packed dinner perfect for busy weeknights.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 300g block silken tofu
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp chilli oil (from a jar of chilli crisp)
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cornflour
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 spring onions
  • 2 eggs
  • jasmine rice, to serve

Instructions

  1. Snip the corner off of the tofu packet and drain out any excess tofu. Lay the tofu out on a double layer of kitchen paper to drain.
  2. To make the sauce, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, chilli oil, sugar and cornflour. Set aside.
  3. Thinly slice the spring onions, separating the white and green bits, lightly beat the eggs, and slice the tofu into bite-sized cubes.
  4. Place the oil and the green pieces of spring onion in a large non-stick frying pan or wok, and place over a medium-high heat. Once the onion is sizzling, add the tofu in a single layer. Allow to cook and warm through for about 1 minute, tossing the pan to move the pieces of onion around if they’re catching; if you stir the tofu too much it will break apart.
  5. Pour over the egg, and once the base is set, carefully scramble with the tofu. Once the egg is only just set, stir in the sauce.
  6. The moment the sauce has thickened serve the tofu and eggs over the jasmine rice, sprinkled with the green parts of the spring onions.

Notes

‘Soy sauce’ refers to dark Chinese soy sauce as standard in all my recipes.

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