A hearty meal of braised ground pork, potato, and Chinese flavors is our unique take on “meat and potatoes”!
This easy and simple formula is one I turn to again and again when I want to exert minimal effort on dinner, but I am craving that long-braised taste.
The best part is, I think it’s equally delicious when served over rice or noodles. In either case, you get a satisfying meal that may be a little heavy on the carbs, but that sometimes you just need.
Another Winning Ground meat Recipe
Whether you call it ground meat or mince, recipes that call for this handy ingredient are always so popular with our readers. It cooks so fast, making these recipes simple and quick for any weeknight. I think this one with ground pork is going to win you over, thanks to the addition of hearty potatoes.
I did include a vegetable component to make this recipe a bit healthier. As for which to include, my starting point would be peas, carrots, bell peppers, or broccoli—either just one or even a mix! I used red bell peppers, which gave the dish a pleasant sweetness.
My one tip is to avoid leafy greens, as the dish will turn messy, and they won’t stand up well to the salty sauce. If you want to serve this with leafy greens, keep them on the side with a dish like our Garlic Baby Bok Choy or Easy Yu Choy.
A Kid-friendly Recipe
This recipe is great for kids, who can easily eat it over rice with a spoon. The gravy soaking into the rice is hard to resist, even for a picky eater!
It’s why we’ve included a note that you can use either spicy bean paste or plain bean paste to suit spice-sensitive palates.
I know summer is here and school is just about over, but it’s also an easy lunch option. Just scoop rice and a ladleful of the pork mixture into a thermos, and you’ve got a piping hot lunch ready and waiting for you.
Want more?
Easy Chinese Dinners with Ground Meat!
- Chinese Spaghetti Bolognese
- Cantonese Beef Rice Bowls
- Easy Curry Beef Rice Bowls
- Rou Zao Fan (肉燥饭): Taiwanese Braised Minced Pork
- Steamed Egg with Crispy Pork
Other Easy Asian Favorites Over Rice
Braised Ground Pork & Potato Recipe Instructions
Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms, then soak them in hot water for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Squeeze out the liquid and reserve it for later (you’ll use the liquid later in the recipe). Trim away any tough stems, and dice the mushrooms into ½-inch pieces.
Use store-bought ground meat, or use our hand-chopped meat technique, which will yield the best texture. Add the meat to a medium bowl along with the marinade ingredients: water, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, and white pepper. Mix well until the meat has absorbed the marinade, and set aside for 15-20 minutes.
After peeling and dicing the potatoes, soak them in a bowl of cold water if you’re not cooking them right away. This prevents oxidation (i.e. the potatoes turning brown).
Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the minced ginger and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant.
Add the pork, and increase the heat to high.
Break up any large chunks with your spatula, cooking until the meat is opaque and lightly browned. Stir in the Shaoxing wine to deglaze the wok or pan.
Next, add the potato cubes (drained).
Add the oyster sauce, bean sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, five spice powder, and water, using the mushroom soaking water (be careful to avoid any sediment from the mushrooms) and adding additional fresh water so you have 1½ cups total.
Stir well, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes—until the potato is just about cooked through.
Stir in the garlic, onion, and your choice of vegetables.
Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes. until the potatoes and vegetables are tender (note that denser vegetables like carrots and broccoli stems may take an additional 1-3 minutes to cook). Add more water—up to an additional ½ cup—if needed to prevent the sauce from drying out.
Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Salt to taste. Stir in the chopped scallions.
Serve with steamed rice. Enjoy!
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Recipe
Braised Ground Pork & Potatoes (Chinese “Meat and Potatoes”)
Ingredients
For the meat and marinade:
- 12 ounces ground pork or chicken (hand-chopped pork shoulder or pork butt is ideal)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
For the rest of the dish:
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms (rinsed, rehydrated and diced; 5 mushrooms = about 0.5oz./15g)
- 1 pound russet potatoes (peeled and diced into ½-inch/1.25cm cubes)
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil (such as vegetable or canola oil)
- 1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon spicy bean sauce (spicy bean sauce doubanjiang or sweet bean sauce both work)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- ¼ teaspoon five spice powder
- 1½ – 2 cups water (including the soaking water from the shiitake mushrooms)
- 2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
- ½ large onion (chopped, about 1 cup / 160 g)
- 1 cup diced vegetables of your choice (such as peas, carrots, bell peppers and/or peeled broccoli stems)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (mixed into a slurry with 1 tablespoon water)
- Salt (to taste)
- ¼ cup scallions (chopped)
Instructions
- Rinse the dried shiitake mushrooms, then soak them in hot water for at least 2 hours (or overnight). Squeeze out the liquid and reserve it for later (you’ll use the liquid later in the recipe). Trim away any tough stems, and dice the mushrooms into ½-inch pieces.
- Use store-bought ground meat, or use our hand-chopped meat technique, which will yield the best texture. Add the meat to a medium bowl along with the marinade ingredients: water, Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, and white pepper. Mix well until the meat has absorbed the marinade, and set aside for 15-20 minutes.
- After peeling and dicing the potatoes, soak them in a bowl of cold water if you’re not cooking them right away. This prevents oxidation (i.e. the potatoes turning brown).
- Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Increase the heat to medium-high, and add the minced ginger and mushrooms. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until fragrant.
- Add the pork, and increase the heat to high. Break up any large chunks with your spatula, cooking until the meat is opaque and lightly browned. Stir in the Shaoxing wine to deglaze the wok or pan.
- Next, add the potato cubes (drained), oyster sauce, bean sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white pepper, five spice powder, and water, using the mushroom soaking water (be careful to avoid any sediment from the mushrooms) and adding additional fresh water so you have 1½ cups total.
- Stir well, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes—until the potato is just about cooked through.
- Stir in the garlic, onion, and your choice of vegetables. Cover and cook for 1-2 minutes until the potatoes and vegetables are tender (note that denser vegetables like carrots and broccoli stems may take an additional 1-3 minutes to cook). Add more water—up to an additional ½ cup—if needed to prevent the sauce from drying out.
- Stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Salt to taste. Stir in the chopped scallions. Serve with steamed rice. Enjoy!
