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Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce

This ground beef dish is a lifesaver. It's easy, quick, tasty, and aside from the beef, garlic, and scallion, everything else is common pantry ingredients.
Chinese ground beef meat sauce as a topping for steamed egg custard.
Chinese ground beef meat sauce as a topping for steamed egg custard.

People who have busy schedules need to learn how to make this Chinese ground beef meat sauce.

Stocking my fridge with this meat sauce means I can make a meat sauce rice bowl, or meat sauce noodles, anytime I want. The meat sauce is also perfect with instant ramen.

Sometimes, I prepare this meat sauce along with Chinese steamed egg custard. The meat sauce is perfect as the topping for the egg custard, and together, the pair makes for a satisfying and filling meal with steamed rice.

Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce
Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce

Ingredients for Chinese meat sauce

The main ingredients for this dish are ground beef, onion, and garlic.

For the sauce, we will need hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and pepper.

For garnish, I usually go with chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

Ground beef or pork?

I use ground beef here because this is probably the most common ground meat sold in the United States.

Traditionally, or at least the way it is prepared in my home growing up, is with ground pork.

I recommend using ground pork if your supermarket has ground pork, and keep the rest of the recipe the same.

Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce
Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce

Easy rice bowl, noodle bowl, or even spaghetti bowl

The idea of meat sauce is that busy Moms who cannot prepare food for their kids during lunchtime can rest easy that the kiddos will have a satisfying meal once they return from school.

As long as Mom remembers to turn on the rice cooker, the kiddos can scoop out steamed white rice along with plenty of meat sauce for lunch. If you are Chinese growing up, uh…, anywhere…., I am sure you understand what I am saying :)

Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce
Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce

Chinese Ground Beef Meat Sauce

4.9 from 11 reviews

Author: Anita Jacobson

Categories: 

Cuisines: 

Ingredients: 

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 20 mins

Serves: 4

Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon oil
  • 100 gram (~ 1 cup, or 1 small) onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 500 gram (~ 1 lb.) ground beef
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 2 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 2 1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and garlic until fragrant and the onion is translucent.
  2. Add ground beef, and stir to break up the meat. Cook until the ground beef is no longer pink.
  3. Add hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and ground pepper. Mix well and cook until almost dry, stirring occasionally.
  4. Turn off heat, stir in scallion and sesame seeds.
  5. You can use this to top a bowl of rice to make meat sauce rice bowl. Or, you can boil some noodles/ramen and top the noodle with this meat sauce too.
Indonesian Pantry
Indonesian Kitchen

Comments

  • Aimee Mars Aimee Mars says:

    This looks so good and I know my kids would love it too! They often skip their lunches, even though I make them one, so this would be a great way to ensure they're getting a good meal.

    • Anita Anita says:

      I'm sure they will love this, Aimee. When I was a kid, I loved making my own instant noodles and added plenty of this as topping. My Mom wasn't even angry I ate instant noodles instead of the steamed rice. :)

  • Vicky Vicky says:

    I can't wait to try this sauce. I think I will try it on beef first, and then try on pork as you suggested. This would be a great topping over those meats and also over rice.

  • Suzy Suzy says:

    I really love how simple this looks to make! My kids would definitely go crazy for it!

  • Roxana Roxana says:

    Looks like an easy and flavorful recipe that can work will with many sides. What can be used instead of wine?

    • Anita Anita says:

      Hi Roxana, you can use Japanese sake, either drinking grade or cooking grade. You can also use mirin if you have that. Or, the most common suggested substitute for Shaoxing is dry sherry, though I really prefer sake or mirin. :)

  • Jenn Jenn says:

    I love scratch-made Chinese dishes and can't wait to get my fork, or chopsticks, into this one! It looks amazing!

  • SHANIKA SHANIKA says:

    This recipe looks so delicious! This is the perfect easy sauce for most weeknight meals for the entire family!

  • Jacqueline Meldrum Jacqueline Meldrum says:

    There are so many recipes you could use this in. Great idea and good to freeze ahead too.

  • Anna Anna says:

    Who needs a takeaway when you can make this delicious dish! Looks so easy and would be perfect with so many different side dishes!

  • Lauren Vavala | Delicious Little Bites Lauren Vavala | Delicious Little Bites says:

    I love how easy and how flavorful this recipe is. I think there are so many ways you could use this, but we do love it most over rice!

  • Lauren Lauren says:

    Oh yum! I can see so many possibilities with this recipe! Over rice, as ramen or as lettuce wraps. I cannot WAIT to try this.

  • afra afra says:

    So simple to make - and this is super kid friendly. I added 200g cauliflower rice for a juicier result (if I make it again I will also add some chopped mushrooms and I will use less sugar) I am sorry if I I am not being authentic but I also stirred in a little chili bean sauce - toban djan) Thanks so much for the happy feeling in my tummy right now :-)

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