On authentic recipes

and how they don't exist.

When I was younger and only ate Australian food lensed through my Chinese family’s eyes, tomato sauce was on the breakfast table. I remember being served scrambled eggs, toasted Wonderwhite and squeezing so much tomato sauce on my eggs I could no longer see the yellow.

It was so trashy, but I can see how my parents thought it was a perfectly balanced breakfast rather than one doused in sugar, because of 番茄炒蛋- a home-style dish that exists all over China that is basically just eggs stir-fried with tomatoes.

Every single family has their version. Some people add rice wine, ginger, sesame oil, sugar, tomato paste, tomato sauce or oyster sauce to it. Some don’t. Some people like it saucier, some like it dryer. The thing is, all these variations are valid because it’s an example of a dish that is so ingrained in a culture, that there is an idea of what the dish is, but no set recipe. Each family knows the principles and purpose of the dish, but it has been adapted for individual tastes. Some serve it on noodles. Some serve it on rice. All are authentic. Every single person will claim their version is the best.