Egg and tofu stir fry is a super easy one-pot meal that is hearty, rich in flavor, and full of nutrition. The tender silken tofu is cooked with scrambled eggs and finished up with a fragrant sauce that’s savory, slightly sweet, and spicy. Serve it by itself or over rice for a quick and satisfying meal! {Vegetarian adaptable, gluten-free adaptable}
Egg and tofu stir fry, or 鸡蛋包豆腐 (Ji Dan Bao Dou Fu), is a family-style dish that features tender tofu and egg cooked together for a quick meal. There are many ways to season this dish depending on each family’s preference. In this recipe, I want to show you my favorite sauce that contains only five ingredients, and it’s addictively tasty.
Egg and tofu ingredients
What type of tofu to use
You might be surprised to see silken tofu used in a stir fry dish. But when done properly, the tofu requires very little cooking time and yields a smooth and tender result that pairs perfectly with the eggs. You can replace the silken tofu with soft tofu if you can’t find silken.
But if you prefer firm or medium tofu, that is totally OK as well. In this case, I would spend more time browning the tofu (step 3 in the recipe below) for a better mouthfeel.
How to prepare silken tofu
Silken tofu is very delicate and requires a gentle touch when handling it.
You should use a sharp knife to slice the plastic seal of the tofu container and remove the seal. Then place your cutting board over the tofu container, flip it, and carefully shake and remove the container. So the tofu will be sitting on the cutting board upside down.
Use a knife to slice the tofu horizontally into two slabs. Then further slice the slabs into small cubes.
Now you can keep the tofu like this until you’re ready to add it to the stir fry.
Water will slowly seep out of the tofu. Right before you add the tofu into the frying pan, carefully hold the tofu with one hand, and tilt the cutting board to drain off the excess water into the sink.
A simple and flavorful sauce
This simple sauce uses light soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili oil and sugar to create a rich and vibrant brown sauce that is full of umami.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:
- Mixed sauce
- Sliced green onion
- Silken tofu, already cut and water drained
- Beaten eggs
How to make egg and tofu stir fry
Making egg and tofu stew is super quick and easy:
- Saute the green onion lightly, then lightly pan fry the silken tofu
- Pour the egg over the tofu and scramble lightly
- Pour in the sauce, stir to thicken
- Garnish with more green onion to finish up
Silken tofu is very delicate and it will fall apart easily if stirred too hard. I highly recommend using a silicone spatula for the stir fry. When stirring, you should use a scooping motion to flip the tofu from the bottom to avoid breaking it to pieces. Also, since the egg and the sauce cook very quickly, you only need minimal stirring to evenly distribute everything. If you end up breaking apart the tofu, no worries at all! The dish will still taste very good.
How to serve egg and tofu stir fry
Egg and tofu stir fry is a tasty dish served by itself as a light meal. You can also top it onto some rice to make your meal more substantial. And of course, you can always serve it as one of the main dishes in a multi-dish dinner.
The dish tastes best when it’s freshly cooked, but it tastes nice once it’s cooled, as well. So it’s also suitable for packing into a lunch box.
Other delicious tofu dishes
- Authentic Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)
- Pan Fried Tofu (脆皮豆腐)
- Sweet and Sour Tofu (糖醋豆腐)
- Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Crispy Marinated Tofu
Egg and Tofu Stir Fry (15-Minute)
Ingredients
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili oil
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
Cooking
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 green onion , sliced
- 1 block (1 lb / 450 g) silken tofu , sliced to bite-size cubes
- 2 large eggs , beaten
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir to mix well.
- Heat the oil in a medium-sized pan over medium heat until hot. Add the white part of the green onion. Stir a few times to release the fragrance.
- Carefully add the tofu and spread it out in the pan with minimal overlap. Let the tofu cook in the hot oil for 1 minute.
- Pour the egg over the tofu. Cook until the bottom of the eggs is set. Then carefully scramble the eggs until just cooked.
- Stir the sauce again to fully dissolve the cornstarch, then pour it into the pan. Gently stir a few times to evenly distribute the sauce. Cook until the sauce has thickened and coated everything evenly. Garnish with the green part of the green onion.
- Transfer everything to a deep plate. Serve hot by itself or with steamed rice as a main dish.
