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Minchi (Macanese minced meat with potatoes)
Minchi (免治): soy-glazed beef and pork mince with crisp potato cubes and a fried egg
If one dish says home to Macanese families, the descendants of Portuguese and Chinese Macau, it is minchi: a quick hash of minced beef and pork seasoned with soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce and a touch of sugar, mixed with crisp little cubes of fried potato and crowned with a runny fried egg. It appears on weeknight tables, at Macanese restaurants near Rua do Cunha, and at gatherings of the Macanese community abroad, always with plain white rice. Savoury, slightly sweet and full of crunch, it tastes like the meeting of a Portuguese kitchen and a Cantonese wok. A common error is stirring the potatoes into the meat too early, which makes them soft and floury; fry them separately until crisp and fold them in at the end. Chef's tip: let the mince sit undisturbed for a minute in the hot pan before stirring, so it browns instead of stewing.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the potatoes
- 14 oz floury potatoespeeled and cut into 1 cm cubes, rinsed and dried
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp salt
For the mince
- 10 ½ oz beef mince
- 7 oz pork mince
- 1 onionfinely diced
- 3 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
To serve
- 4 eggs
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 ⅓ lb cooked white rice (optional)
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Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Spread the rinsed potato cubes on a clean tea towel and pat them completely dry; wet potatoes spit in the oil and never crisp.
Step 2: Heat 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry 14 oz floury potatoes, turning now and then, until golden and crisp on all sides and soft inside. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with ¼ tsp salt.
10 minStep 3: In a second pan or the wiped-out first one, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil over a medium heat and fry 1 onion, 3 cloves garlic and 1 bay leaf until soft and translucent.
4 minStep 4: Turn the heat to high, add 10 ½ oz beef mince and 7 oz pork mince and press flat. Leave it for 1 minute to brown, then break it up and stir-fry until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F.
5 minStep 5: Add 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp dark soy sauce, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp ground black pepper and stir-fry until the liquid has evaporated and the mince is glossy and dark.
2 minStep 6: Meanwhile, fry 4 eggs in 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a separate pan until the whites are set and crisp at the edges and the yolks still soft.
3 minStep 7: Take the mince off the heat, remove the bay leaf and fold in the crisp potatoes.
Step 8: Spoon the minchi over 1 ⅓ lb cooked white rice, top each portion with a fried egg and serve straight away.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 560 kcal
- Protein
- 33 g
- Carbs
- 20 g
- Fat
- 39 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does minchi (Macanese minced meat with potatoes) take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 20 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of floury potatoes?
- Sweet potato, same weight (sweeter, cooks a little faster).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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