chinese "hamburger helper" (veg & non-veg)

chinese hamburger helper

ok, the name is kinda gross and reminds you of cheap boxed processed foods but probably you secretly love it anyway. i've never actually had hamburger helper but i was wondering what i could possibly name this dish since i did not know what to call it in chinese. my boyfriend suggested it was sort of a chinese hamburger helper as a joke but the name stuck so thats what we've been calling it. as you might see in the picture, i like to have it with rice and tea eggs (tea egg recipe posted in the entry before this one). its also really good over some noodles - egg noodles, pasta, soba, etc. a vegetarian option will also be available below.*


1 pound ground beef or pork (my mom says its super good with both but i've never tried it)
a couple of minced garlic cloves
a couple of green onions sliced into 1" pieces
vegetables of your choice (i like red peppers, peas, zucchini, mushrooms), chopped
2 blocks tofu-gan (a marinated and baked tofu), cubed
3 T sweet flour sauce
2 T chili bean paste
pepper


1. preheat deep sided, large frying pan. add in the ground meat and cook until browned, separating any clumps. take out the meat and set aside. drain any remaining fat from the pan (or keep it if you like it that way).
2. saute garlic in same pan. add green onions, vegetables and the tofu-gan. cook for a couple of minutes until vegetables start to become soft.
3.add the meat, sweet flour sauce, chili bean paste, and season with pepper. combine well, and let simmer for 20/30 minutes, stirring occasionally.


*for a vegetarian version, just replace ground meat with meat substitute grounds. you have to use a little more sweet flour sauce and bean paste and you have to add about a cup of water and more cooking oil so it does not come out too dry. the picture above is made with quorn grounds and it is quite tastey indeed.

this serves 4-6 people depending on appetite or personal preference of helper to rice/noodle ratios. its always nice to have leftovers of this.


enjoy! come back soon!