An absolutely easy and popular traditional homemade Chinese-style dough knots or spaetzle or known as mian ge da tang, cooked in a hearty tomato and egg soup.
Place the flour in a large mixing bowl. Gradually add 4 Tbsp of water and then use a chopstick to stir in one direction at the same time until the dough turns into irregular little lumps. If the dough feels too dry and you can't form lumps, you can add another teaspoon of water at a time. Likewise, if the dough feels too wet, add a bit more flour, one tablespoon at a time
Prepare the soup:
Preheat a large heavy-bottom pot on medium heat. Add cooking oil and then stir fry garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the broth and seasonings. Bring to a gentle simmer and then add the greens and tomato
Bring back to a boil and then pick up some of the dough knots with your hands and gently scattered them on top the soup. Don't dump all at once or they will become one large lump. Repeat until all the dough knots are in the soup. Gently stir and cook for about 1 minute
While one hand is stirring, slowly and gradually pour in the beaten egg and keep stirring so it will form a nice pattern like egg drop soup. Turn off the heat. Have a taste and season with more salt as needed. Serve immediately