Cantonese Ground Beef and Eggs
Serves 4
Adapted from Omnivore’s Cookbook
For Sauce:
2 cups chicken stock
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2⅓ tablespoons soy sauce
⅛ teaspoon white pepper powder
For Cooking:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 pound ground beef (85% lean, 15% fat or leaner)
1 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons ginger, minced
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup frozen peas
4-5 large eggs
For Serving:
2 cups rice, cooked
4 teaspoons sesame seed oil
Sesame seeds, for garnish
Red pepper flakes, for garnish
For Sauce:
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the chicken stock, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and white pepper. Mix everything until well blended. Set aside.
For Cooking:
Heat a large pan over medium heat. As the pan is heating up, add the vegetable oil. Once hot, add in the ground beef and spread it around so it covers the entire bottom of the pan. Leave the meat, undisturbed, until the bottom is brown, about 4-5 minutes. Break up the meat into bite-sized pieces and let it cook through, an additional 2 minutes.
Add in the onion, garlic, and ginger to the pan and, while occasionally stirring, let them sauté until the onions become soft and tender, about 5 minutes. If, at the end of sautéing, there is a large amount of oil pooling in the pan, skim some off and discard.
Pour in the sauce and mix everything together. Cover the pan and let everything simmer for 10 minutes. After simmering, there should still be sauce left covering the meat. If not, add in a bit more broth.
As the dish simmers, make the cornstarch slurry by combining the cornstarch with ⅓ cup water in a small bowl. Set aside.
Following the 10 minutes of simmering, remove the lid, give everything a good stir, and mix in the frozen peas. Stir the cornstarch slurry so it becomes a smooth liquid again and slowly pour half the mixture into the pan. Stir the meat constantly to help thicken up the sauce. The sauce should stick to the mixing spoon. If the sauce is too thin, add in a bit more of the cornstarch slurry.
Crack the eggs on top off the beef and immediately cover the pan letting the eggs steam for 2-3 minutes. The egg whites will be cooked, but the yolks will still be runny at this point. Cook for longer if you don’t want runny yolks (although I highly recommend them!).
Once the eggs have steamed, remove the pan from stove and begin to serve. Ladle a layer of rice into each bowl or plate. Drizzle a bit of sesame seed oil over the rice. Spoon out an egg, along with the meat and sauce, over top the rice. Garnish with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes.
Enjoy!
