Hong Kong Minced Beef on Rice 免治牛肉飯 (Cantonese: meen zi gnau yoke fan) or 免牛飯 (meen gnau fan) is a popular dish at most Hong Kong cafés. It is minced or ground beef fried with peas and bound together with a sweet soy sauce slurry and an egg on top.
In the original Hong Kong version, “Nest Egg” Minced Beef on Rice 窩蛋免治牛肉飯, you would make a bit of a well or “nest” after you put the beef over the rice. You would then crack a raw egg in the nest. The heat from the rice and beef would cook the egg slightly but not fully. This is not common now possibly to prevent potential risk of salmonella contraction. So it’s more common now just to have a sunny side up egg on top.
Just a bit of fun trivia…adding a sunny side up egg on rice is often referred to as “wearing a hat 戴帽 (dai mo)” at Hong Kong cafés and diners. In addition, here are a few more interesting Hong Kong café jargons for you:
- Pineapple Bun with Butter = 蘿柚 (loa yau) slang for “butt”
- White rice = 靚仔 (leng zai) = slang for “good looking boy (or man)”
- Plain congee = 靚女 (leng nui) = slang for “good looking girl (or woman)”
- Egg sandwich = 攬住 (lam zhu) = slang for “hug” or “hold closely”
- Half coffee half milk tea = 鴛鴦 (yuen yeurng) = Mandarin duck (Chinese symbol of love and fidelity)
- Can of Coca Cola = 雪櫃 (shuet guai) = refrigerator
- Egg fried rice = 打爛 (da lan) = slang for broken (refers to breaking the egg to make fried rice)
With both my parents being from Hong Kong, I really enjoy making Hong Kong style dishes for my family. My Hong Kong Minced Beef on Rice 免治牛肉飯 recipe is both quick and easy. But most importantly, it’s delicious and nutritious! Serve with a cold Hong Kong lemon tea for the whole Hong Kong café experience!
Hong Kong Minced Beef on Rice 免治牛肉飯
Ingredients
- 600 g Ground beef
- 5 cloves Garlic , chopped
- 1 Large shallot , chopped
- 100 g Frozen peas
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- ½ tbsp Dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 100 ml Water
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 1 Egg , sunnyside up or poached
- 3 c Cooked Rice
Ingredients for beef marinade:
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
- ½ tbsp Dark soy sauce
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- 2 tsp Oil
Instructions
- Prepare 3 cups of cooked rice.
This rice should be cooked and hot by Step 14 - Thaw 100 g of peas.
They may also be cooked in frozen state but will require slightly more cooking time - Marinate beef with 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, ½ tbsp dark soy sauce and ¼ tsp white pepper powder. Mix well. Add 2 tsp oil and mix well. Marinate for 15 minutes
Oil is added to prevent the ground beef from clumping together when stir-frying. It also locks-in the marinade for better flavour. 
- Chop garlic and shallots and set aside
- Combine 1 tbsp cornstarch, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, ½ tbsp dark soy sauce and 100 ml water. Mix well and set aside
- Heat wok at high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil
- Add beef into the wok. Stir-fry until beef is approx. halfway cooked. Lower heat to medium. Remove beef from wok leaving the oil
- Add shallots and garlic into the wok. Stir-fry until flavourful. Increase heat to high
- Add peas and stir-fry for 30 seconds
- Add 1 tbsp of Shaoxing wine. Stir-fry until peas are soft. Approx 1 minute
- Mix the sauce and pour into the wok. Stir to mix well
- Add the beef. Reduce the heat to medium-high. Stir-fry for approx. 1 minute or until beef is cooked and sauce has thickened. Turn off heat
- Prepare a sunny side up egg
- Prepare cooked, hot rice on serving plate
- Serve the beef over white rice and add the egg on top
Recipe was simple, but a little too sweet for my liking. I added more water, light sou sauce and some ChinKiang to help with the sweetness.
Hi FrauK, Thank you for trying out my recipe. I'm sorry that you felt it was too sweet. I just made it again today to make sure I didn't make a mistake with the ingredients. I followed my recipe exactly and I did not find it too sweet, nor did my family. It is how I remember it from eating at Hong Kong cafés. It is meant to be a bit on the sweet side, but not very sweet. If the sweetness was the only issue for you, and if you decide to make it again, you can reduce the amount of sugar by half or more. Happy cooking!
Hi FrauK, after I received your comment, I made this dish again and I had found the sweetness level to be okay. However, I became more aware of the sugar I was adding to my other dishes. What I found was that my teaspoons were not giving me the right measurements. It was the first time that I looked carefully at my teaspoons that came with the condiment containers and suddenly I realized that they looked smaller than other teaspoons. I then took out all my measuring spoons and I verified the volume using water and a digital scale. What I found was that most of my measuring spoons were off on average 20%! I had accumulated these spoons through various channels over the years. Some were bonus items that came with kitchen gadgets I bought, some from dollar stores and some from kitchen equipment stores. Anyways, I made this dish again using correct teaspoons and I agree with you that it was definitely too sweet. I have amended this recipe and others. But I owe you an apology and a big thanks for letting me know or else I wouldn't have become aware of this problem. I'm not sure where you're from but if you're ever in the Vancouver area, let me know and I'll take you out for dim sum! Sorry and thanks again!
A delicious quick & easy weekday meal. I added sugar ONLY in the marinade, as per FrauK comment above. Emily, thanks for posting this.
Hi LJ, oh my gosh...that's a gorgeous bowl of rice!! You're stealing my thunder, lol 😉
I love your artistic flare! I'm so happy that you cutomized it to suit your taste. We all have different memories and ideas of what certain dishes tastes like and I can only offer my version of it. I hope you get a chance to try more of my recipes and show me your pictures! I'm still very jealous! Happy cooking!
Thanks for the recipe as my kids asked to make it. They don’t like peas so I substitute with corn and a little tomato. It’s very good!
Hi Karen, That looks beautiful! I actually don't like peas either! I like to chop up choy sum (aka you cai) to replace the peas. Corn is also a great substitute! Happy cooking!