MACANESE HASH

It's called 'minchi', which may or may not derive from the English word 'mince'. But it just as well could be called 'keema, seeing as the usual spicing is more or less Indian, albeit in an attenuated form.
Curry, cayenne, soy sauce, and Worcestershire.


免治 (澳門式肉碎飯)
['min chi' -- 'ou mun sik yiuk seui faan']

One pound of ground meat; pork, beef, lamb, or a mixture.
One large potato, peeled and cubed small.
One onion, chopped.
Two or three cloves garlic, minced.
A little ginger, minced.
Two TBS soy sauce.
Half TBS Worcestershire sauce (李派林喼汁 'lei paai lam kip chap').
Dash of fish sauce (魚露 'yü lou').
One TBS brown sugar.
Half Tsp. cayenne.
Pinch ground cumin.
Pinch five spice.
A grind of pepper.
A little yellow curry paste, or substitute curry powder.
Oil and rendered fat.


Lightly brown the minced onion in the skillet. Add the ginger and garlic, stir in, when fragrant add the spices and curry stuffs. Stir to incorporate, dump in the meat. When the meat is cooked add the soy sauce, Worcestershire, and sugar, mix very well, then remove from heat.

Fry the potato cubes till crisped and golden. Remove from heat, leaving oil in pan. Mix potato and meat. Chopped garlic chives (韭菜 'gau choi') or cilantro may be used to garnish.

Fry three or four eggs sunny side up in the oil, one for each person.


Serve with rice. The idea is a mound of cooked rice, the meat and potato mixture dumped over, and a fried egg on top. Plus fresh chilies and a squeeze of lime juice to brighten the taste.

Some people might add a chopped bellpepper or some okra (潺茄 'saan ke') to the meat while cooking, which is good too.


I simply use ground pork from a Chinese market, and fish sauce flatters pork immensely. With some briefly cooked bokchoy or sliced tomatoes and jiggers of hot sauce, it makes a splendid little lunch or dinner. I always adjust quantities to account for only one person, rather than the three or four who would be eating family-style if there were a family.
Which there isn't.


When there were still newspapers worth reading, this, plus coffee, made a splendid Saturday or Sunday afternoon.



Please note: not all kip chap is actually Leipaailam (Lea & Perrins) kip chap. There are some frightful American imitations on the market, which should be avoided at all costs.




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