30-Minute Hungarian-Inspired Pepper and Egg Stew with Rice
A quick adaptation of Hungarian pepper-and-tomato stew, with green bell peppers, fully cooked egg curds and plain long-grain rice.
Hungarian pepper-and-tomato stew knows how to make a handful of everyday ingredients feel like a proper lunch. This quick adaptation folds in eggs and uses thinly sliced green bell peppers instead of traditional Hungarian wax peppers. Fluffy rice catches the tomato juices, because not a drop should escape.
- Prep
- 8 min
- Cook
- 22 min
- Total
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
Ingredients
Nutrition per serving
Estimate- Net carbs
- 61.3 g
- Protein
- 20.5 g
- Fat
- 20.1 g
- Carbohydrates
- 68.5 g
- Fibre
- 7.2 g
- Energy
- 532 kcal
- Serving weight
- 649 g
Calculated from the ingredient weights with USDA FoodData Central. For orientation, not medical or dietary advice.
Method
Prepare the vegetables
Allow about 8 minutes to rinse the rice in a sieve and drain well, cut the seeded peppers into 3 mm strips, and finely dice the onion and tomatoes. Keep the tomato juices. Have a small lidded saucepan and a 28 cm non-stick frying pan with a lid ready; for 3–4 servings use a wide 32 cm deep frying pan so the vegetables cook together rather than in batches.
Start the rice
Put the drained rice and all the measured water into the saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat very low and simmer for 15 minutes, then take off the heat and leave covered for 4 minutes. Start the stew immediately while the rice heats and cooks; do not wait for the rice to finish.
Soften the peppers
While the rice heats, warm the oil in the frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and all the salt; cook for 3 minutes, stirring, until translucent rather than browned. Add the thin pepper strips, cover and cook for 4 minutes, stirring once or twice, until they begin to soften and glisten.
AI-generated illustration. Simmer the tomatoes
Take the pan briefly off the heat, stir in the sweet paprika, then immediately add the tomatoes with their juices and the black pepper. Return to medium heat, cover and simmer for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover and simmer for about 3 more minutes, until the peppers are tender and the tomatoes form a juicy sauce that coats them rather than a watery puddle. Lower the heat if the bottom starts catching.
Set the eggs
During the final minute of the tomato simmer, crack the eggs into a bowl and beat just until combined. Pour over the simmering vegetables. Let set briefly, then gently fold with a spatula to make large curds. Cook over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes, until the eggs are completely set with no runny patches; the egg mixture should reach 71°C. Keep the curds moist rather than browned.
AI-generated illustration. Fluff and plate
Fluff the rested rice with a fork and divide between plates. Spoon the pepper and egg stew alongside, including its tomato juices. Allow about 2 minutes to plate; with the rice and stew cooked in parallel, the meal takes about 30 minutes from starting preparation.
Good to know
- Slice the peppers thinly and evenly. Thick strips take longer to soften and can leave the eggs waiting while the vegetables finish.
- Add the paprika off the heat and follow immediately with the juicy tomatoes. Paprika scorches quickly in hot oil and turns bitter.
- Reduce excess tomato liquid before adding the eggs. Gentle folding makes larger, softer curds; constant stirring makes a much finer scramble.
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