Make an easier version of this Singaporean zi char classic: tofu omelette! Easy steps with egg, tofu and veggies for a savoury dish that’s perfect for a weeknight dinner.
When it comes to Singaporean cuisine, zi char dishes hold a special place in the hearts of locals. One favourite is Hotplate Tofu Omelette, a delicious combination of eggs, soft tofu and savoury gravy, traditionally served sizzling hot!
I’ve actually got a recipe for the classic version right here: Hotplate Egg Tofu Omelette. But this version is a little easier to make at home. You don’t need a hotplate or cast iron pan. I love my cast iron, but I get it, not everyone owns one… OR wants to fuss with cast iron cleanup afterwards.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
What is Hotplate Tofu Omelette?
Hotplate Tofu Omelette is a classic zi char dish that features a fluffy omelette, often combined with egg tofu, and bathed in a rich, umami-filled sauce.
Zi char (煮炒) refers to a style of Chinese cooking commonly found in Singapore and Malaysia, served at casual eateries and restaurants. There’s a wide variety of freshly cooked dishes, from wok-fried noodles and seafood, meat to saucy tofu dishes, usually meant to be shared family-style over rice.
Served on a sizzling hotplate, it’s not only a treat for the taste buds but also a feast for the eyes and ears. The dish is versatile, and egg tofu is traditionally used, deep fried first to get a crispy outer layer with silky soft insides.
The egg tofu is usually pan-fried or deep-fried first before adding to the savoury gravy. This is my easier, home-cook-friendly version. Instead of deep frying the egg tofu, I pan fried it in the same pan as the omelette!
You still get all the comforting flavours of the zi char classic, but without all the deep frying, or needing a hotplate or cast iron pan!
Key Ingredients for Tofu Omelette
- Egg Tofu: Silky and smooth, egg tofu is the star of the dish, providing a delicate texture that pairs beautifully with the omelette. You can also opt for silky tofu for a similar texture, albeit slightly different flavour.
- Eggs: Essential for that golden omelette base!
- Minced Meat & Shrimp: Added proteins to enhance flavour and fill this dish up even more! Zi Char restaurants would often use a combination of mince meat and shrimp, but I’ve often skipped this.
- Chopped Vegetables: Use chopped vegetables of your choice for colour and added nutrition. I used a combination of red and green bell peppers and carrots, all chopped equally. For even more convenience, use frozen vegetables.
- Onions, Ginger, Garlic & Spring Onions: Aromatics that add depth to the sauce. Finely mince the ingredients – or use paste form! See this post for my how-to guide on making aromatics pastes.
Seasoning for Gravy
- Oyster Sauce & Soy Sauce: The two key components of the savoury sauce that ties everything together. Optional, but I like to also add dark soy sauce for some colour.
- Chicken Stock or Water: As the sauce base. Stock will give it that MSG boost to have it more like what you find at zi char restaurants.
- Cornstarch Slurry: A slurry of cornstarch and water to help thicken the sauce to the perfect consistency.
- Sesame Oil: Drizzled at the end, this imparts so much fragrance to the dish!
Key Steps to Making Hotplate Tofu Omelette
1. Sauté the aromatics
- Heat oil in a pot or pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.
2. Cook the chicken and vegetables
- Add the minced chicken and break it up with your spatula. Stir-fry with the aromatics for 2–3 minutes, until mostly cooked through.
- Add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, if using, and a generous pinch of white pepper. Stir-fry to coat the chicken. This step will not only season the chicken, the sauces will caramelise into deeper flavours!
- Add vegetables next and stir-fry for another 2–3 minutes, until slightly softened. If you’re using vegetables that cook quicker, such as leafy vegetables, only add it at the end.
4. Make the gravy
- Pour in the stock or water and bring everything to a simmer.
- Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink and are cooked through.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tbsp (30ml) water to make a slurry. Give the slurry another stir just before adding it, if the cornstarch will settle at the bottom.
- Slowly stir the slurry into the simmering gravy. Let it cook for 1–2 minutes, until the gravy thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with more white pepper or soy sauce, if needed.
5. Make the Egg Tofu Omelette
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a separate non-stick frying pan over medium heat.
- Add the egg tofu slices in a single layer and pan-fry for 2–3 minutes on each side, until lightly golden. You don’t need to get them super crispy. The goal is to give the egg tofu some colour while keeping the centre soft and silky.
- Spread the pan fried tofu slices evenly around the pan with a spatula.
OPTIONAL: For slightly crispier tofu, lightly coat the egg tofu slices in cornstarch before pan-frying.
This is also the traditional hotplate tofu method, the fried egg tofu can grip onto the sauces a lot better…. I skip this because it can get messy, and you will need to use more oil to properly fry the surface. I really don’t mind a softer, custardy egg tofu!
- Pour the beaten eggs over the tofu and gently swirl the pan so the egg flows around the tofu.
- Cover with a lid and cook over medium-low heat until the bottom is set and the top is just barely cooked. Aim for a half-cooked top, but as always feel free to cook further to your preference.
- Turn off the heat and let the residual heat finish cooking the eggs.
6. Serve
- Pour the hot chicken and shrimp gravy generously over the tofu omelette while the pan is still hot.
- Finish with sliced spring onions and serve immediately with steamed rice.
How to Serve Tofu Omelette
There are two ways to serve this.
- Transfer the tofu omelette to a serving plate and pour the hot gravy generously over the top…
OR
- my favourite way is to keep things gloriously messy!
Pour the gravy straight over the omelette while it’s still in the pan, scatter over the spring onions, and bring the whole pan straight to the table. No need to make it pretty. Just spoon out the soft, eggy tofu with plenty of that saucy chicken and shrimp gravy.
Since you’ve already got protein and vegetables packed into the dish, all you really need is a bowl of steamed rice to soak up that gravy.
If you’re feeling slightly more ambitious, add a simple leafy vegetable stir-fry on the side and you’ve got yourself a proper weeknight feast.
High Protein Upgrade
This recipe is an easy way to get more protein in, thanks to the minced meat and shrimp loaded into the gravy. You can also use either minced meat or shrimp, depending on what you have in the fridge.
Personally, I’ve found it much easier to eat high-protein meals when there’s a variety of protein sources and flavours involved. It’s just more exciting than shovelling 200g of chicken into your mouth every day!
The recipe as written serves 4, making it perfect for serving family-style alongside rice and a few other dishes.
But if you want to make this your main protein dish and hit your protein goals with fewer dishes to cook, simply divide the recipe into 2 servings instead. With 3 eggs, 250g egg tofu, 100g shrimp and 100g minced chicken in the recipe, each serving provides approximately 40–43g of protein, excluding rice.
You can switch up the protein depending on what you have:
- Lean minced chicken or turkey: My go-to for a lighter, high-protein gravy.
- Lean minced beef: Adds a richer, more savoury flavour.
- Shrimp: Keeps the gravy light while adding plenty of protein.
And you don’t have to make the omelette every time! This same protein-packed gravy is also delicious spooned over steamed eggs for a softer, lighter meal.
Make Steamed Eggs with the Gravy
Love the gravy but want something softer and lighter? This chicken and shrimp gravy is also really good spooned over steamed eggs.
See my recipe for how to make silky smooth steamed eggs here.
If you want to include the soft tofu, first whisk eggs with warm water or stock. Strain into a heatproof dish. Add the soft tofu into the strained eggs. Then cover loosely and steam over low to medium heat until the egg is just set and silky.
Meanwhile, prepare the chicken and shrimp gravy as directed in the recipe. Spoon the hot gravy over the steamed egg and finish with spring onions.
It’s essentially the same savoury combination in a completely different form: silky steamed egg topped with a glossy, protein-packed gravy.
A few helpful tips
Storing and Reheating
Storing
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Reheating
To reheat, use a skillet over medium heat until warmed through, adding a splash of water if needed to refresh the sauce. You can also blitz this in the microwave, but not for too long as it can turn the omelette and tofu rubbery.
Tofu Omelette with Gravy (protein packed 30 minute meal!)
4
servings10
minutes15
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- Gravy
1 tbsp vegetable oil
100 g minced meat
100 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ginger, minced
1 cup mixed vegetables (chopped red and green bell peppers, and carrots)
1.5 cups water
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce, to taste
1 tsp dark soy sauce (optional)
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water
1 tsp sesame oil
ground white pepper, to taste
- Tofu Omelette
1 tube (approx. 250g) egg tofu, cut into approx. 1.5cm (½-inch) discs
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
spring onions, for garnish
- Serve with:
steamed rice
Directions
- Cook Mince and Vegetables
- Heat 1 tsp (5ml) vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
- Add the onion, garlic and ginger. Stir-fry for 1–2 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the minced chicken (or mince of choice) and break it up with your spatula. Stir-fry with the aromatics for 2–3 minutes, until mostly cooked through.
- Add the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce if using, and a generous pinch of white pepper. Stir-fry to coat the chicken.
- Add the mixed vegetables and stir-fry for another 2–3 minutes, until slightly softened.
- Make the gravy
- Pour in the stock or water and bring everything to a simmer.
- Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink and are cooked through.
- In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 tbsp (30ml) water to make a slurry. Give the slurry another stir just before adding it, if the cornstarch has settled at the bottom. Slowly stir the slurry into the simmering gravy. Let it cook for 1–2 minutes, until the gravy thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning with more white pepper or soy sauce, if needed.
- Make the Egg Tofu Omelette
- In a separate pan, heat about 1 tsp of oil over medium heat.
- Add the egg tofu slices in a single layer and pan-fry for 2–3 minutes on each side, until lightly golden. You don’t need to get them super crispy. The goal is to give the egg tofu some colour while keeping the centre soft and silky. Optional: For slightly crispier tofu, lightly coat the egg tofu slices in cornstarch before pan-frying.
- Spread the pan fried tofu slices evenly around the pan. Pour the beaten eggs over the tofu and gently swirl the pan so the egg flows around the tofu.
- Cover with a lid and cook over medium-low heat until the bottom is set and the top is just barely cooked and slightly jiggles. Turn off the heat and let the residual heat finish cooking the eggs.
- Serve
- Pour the hot chicken and shrimp gravy generously over the tofu omelette.
- Finish with sliced spring onions and serve immediately with steamed rice. Enjoy!
Notes
- This serves 4 when enjoyed family-style alongside other dishes. If served as a main dish, this best serves 2 to hit a protein goal of approx. 40g per serve!
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