Chinese Recipes | Cooking Tips | Good Eats

Uh-oh. This is what happens when I did not apportion food for just one serving. One quarter pound of minced pork is too much for a one person serving. But because one quarter pound was frozen and then defrosted as one packet, I had to cook the whole packet anyway. I shall use one eighth pound next time!

This is a simple dish that goes well with rice congee (porridge).

Ingredients (for 1 serving):

- 1/8 lb minced pork
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp corn starch
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp dried shrimp
- 1 cucumber, peeled, cut into half, then into slices on the bias
- 1 cup chicken broth

Method:

1. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a wok. Medium heat. In the meanwhile, marinate minced meat with light soy sauce and corn starch (corn starch is used to seal in the meat juice).

2. When oil is hot enough (some say that happens when you place your hand over the oil and cannot stand the heat after 4 seconds), add minced meat, minced garlic and dried shrimp. Stir fry until fragrant.

3. Add cucumber and stir fry until the cucumber changes color a little, then add chicken broth and cover the wok to allow the cucumber to cook further for about 5 minutes. Cucumber becomes softer as it gets more translucent.

The chicken broth adds sweetness and moisture to this dish. Any additional gravy can be used to drizzle over the rice congee.