CANTONESE BEEF RICE BOWLS
You know, these Cantonese beef rice bowls are like…the great-grandfather of the bolognese notion. Cooked ground beef is thickened into a sauce after being cooked in stock, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and a variety of other delectable. It’s one of those comforting Cantonese dishes that you’ll resort to time and time again. I’m certain I do.
Grandmother (my dad’s mother) would make this dish for him and his brothers when they were younger, and I’m happy to share her tried-and-true recipe with you. Every single kid who enjoys hamburgers is going to gobble this dish right up!
Isn’t that the finest part? You can prepare a wonderful lunch in under 30 minutes.
INGREDIENTS:
- 450g of ground beef
- 3 cloves of minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons of oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- 2 1/2 cups of chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper
- 1 cup of frozen peas
- steamed rice (to serve)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Set the wok to high heat and add a tablespoon of oil. Mix in the ground beef, breaking up any large pieces of meat as it cooks. Slowly stir in the onion, garlic, and Shaoxing wine, then remove the pan from the heat and cover the pan with a lid. Add the chicken stock once the onion is translucent.
- Boiling and simmering are synonymous terms in this context. Incorporate the oyster and soy sauces, sesame oil, and white pepper into the mixture. Cook for 10 minutes under a covered pot. The peas should be cooked in the heated oil for one minute after the heat has been turned off.
- The starch will separate from the water if let to sit, so whisk the cornstarch slurry before adding it to the sauce. Thicken the sauce until a spoon can be dipped into it easily. More cornstarch slurry (a couple of teaspoons) or letting the sauce simmer and decrease longer may be necessary if it’s not thick enough. Add water to make it a little more liquid. These modifications can be made until the sauce reaches the desired thickness. Serve over steaming rice!