Hong Kong Style Beef Mince with Poached Egg on Rice 🇭🇰

I remember sitting at the desk with my stomach grumbling, waiting for the school bell to ring so I could make a dash to the YMCA's canteen just up the road from my high school to enjoy this combo of beef mince, poached egg and peas served over a plate of hot rice.  That was a lifetime ago in Hong Kong.  The former British colony has changed beyond recognition since those days, but I still make this local classic in my Perth home, not so much for nostalgia but for a quick satisfying meal that requires no fancy ingredients.  It is an easy recipe with everything thrown together and cooked in one pan.  The eggs are gently poached in the savoury meat sauce until the whites are just set and the yolks still runny.  So delicious I have no trouble gobbling it all up with the same speed and gusto as when I was a young student.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup white rice 
• 1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 250g / 9oz beef mince
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• a dash of white pepper
• ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• 190ml / 6 fl oz water or chicken stock
• ½ cup frozen green peas
• 2 eggs
• ½ teaspoon cornflour mixed with 2 tablespoons water in a small dish

METHOD

1. Cook rice following instructions here.  Cover to keep warm until ready for serving.
2. Heat oil in a wok or a medium-size frying pan over medium high heat.  Add the onion and ginger and sauté for 1 minute.  Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the mixture is golden and fragrant.
3. Add the beef mince and spread them out with a spatula.  Let the beef sizzle undisturbed for 30 seconds to caramelise before tossing them about to cook through. 
4. Stir in the oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, sugar, white pepper and sesame oil.
5. Add the water or stock and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the frozen peas and simmer for another minute.  
7. Give the cornflour mixture a stir in the dish, then add it into the meat sauce.  Cook, stirring, for about 1 minute until the sauce thickens.
8. Reduce the heat to low.  Crack the eggs into the pan and let them nestled in the meat sauce.  Cover and simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until the whites are just set and the yolks are still runny.
9. With a spatula, carefully lift an egg and a portion of the meat sauce onto each prepared plate of rice.  Serve hot.