The Dreamy Ground Beef and Egg Bowl of Suzie Lee’s Childhood

+ more on Suzie's second and latest cookbook, "Simply Chinese Feasts"

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The recipe box is a collection of recipes and techniques from my favorite cookbooks—everything from up-and-coming titles to tried-and-true favorites from my collection. (Though you may see some original recipes here from time to time, too 😉) You can check out TOD’s archive of past recipes here if you’re looking for some meal inspiration.

Hi all, hope everyone’s doing well! I just returned back home after almost a month straight of travel; first, there was a ✨dreamy ✨two weeks in Tokyo, followed by a week in New Orleans for a work conference. My body needed some time to recover and re-adjust to Chicago time—hence, there was no “That One Dish” dispatch last week. Now that I’m able to sleep through the entire night without jolting awake at 3:30am on the dot, it’s time to get back into it! Thanks so much for your flexibility and patience. (And for those who follow me on Instagram, y’all know that I’ve made big bowls of sashimi, painting cherry blossoms in my sketchbook, and coffee served in champagne glasses my entire personality for the past month. Thank you for putting up with that). And now, without further ado …

Even while living in Northern Ireland, Suzie Lee’s parents still carried on the customs, traditions, and (most importantly) cuisine of their native Hong Kong. Suzie recalls a childhood surrounded by good food, courtesy of her late mother’s cooking and the Chinese takeaway her parents ran in Lisburn (the Man Lee, which, fun fact: still stands today). During special occasions, large feasts brought her entire extended family together, and the number of people in attendance wasn’t particularly modest; Suzie writes that, “at any given moment, there would have been an average of 30 people and even 40+ if all the cousins came along.”

Whether it was tucking into lobster noodles and crispy sea bream during Lunar New Year or chestnut tartlets and hot pot during birthday parties, these memories of celebratory family meals were what ultimately sparked inspiration for Suzie’s second and latest cookbook, “Simply Chinese Feasts.” This collection of recipes explores not just the dishes typically enjoyed during annual Chinese festivals and holidays, but also the ones Suzie fondly remembers from childhood—the ones that graced the family dinner table during special occasions (think traditional char siu pork and dumplings), not to mention the ones her mother whipped up on weeknights even after busy shifts at the takeaway (crunchy sesame seed chicken and steamed egg pudding included). Suzie, now a mother of two, continues to share recipes online and through her two cookbooks (her first cookbook, “Simply Chinese,” came out in 2022), all of which are a true reflection of her Hong Kong heritage and Northern Irish upbringing. 

“My family was very festival and celebration-oriented. For me, these are really nostalgic recipes and dishes I’ve eaten growing up,” Suzie explains. “Because my mum passed away when I was 16, these books have been a way for me to go through a journey of re-discovery. I got into cooking when I got to uni. I’d dabble back and forth with some Chinese recipes or Mum’s recipes. But it was only when I had my children when I really felt, ‘Oh my goodness.’ There’s this huge part of me that was really talking to me, saying that I need to show this now. I want this book to be not just for the public, but for my children to be able to pick this up in the years to come and go, ‘Oh, Mum made this and this is how she did it.’ Or, for my grandchildren to go, “Granny made this and this is how she did it.’ This is me writing for the future. It’s very personal.”

Today, I’m sharing this recipe for Suzie’s father’s ground beef and egg bowl from the “Family Feasts” chapter of “Simply Chinese Feasts.” Though ground beef rice and eggs is very much an old-school Cantonese classic, the inspiration for this rendition is rooted in a go-to snack Suzie’s father would pull together before table tennis matches.

“I used to watch him as he worked in the takeaway,” Suzie recalls. “There were a couple of evenings when he would’ve wanted to just rush out [to play table tennis], but Mum would make him eat dinner for energy. He took a big spoonful of rice—piping hot, straight out of the rice cooker—and he’d crack an egg into it, add some soy sauce, and mix it all in.”

It’s a dish that goes as far back as her father’s childhood in Hong Kong, something that he and his siblings would make while their parents were at work—even adding a spoonful of pork drippings for extra flavor. Ground beef and peas in an oyster sauce-based gravy is already a traditional combination, but here the addition of a raw egg yolk makes for a rich and creamy mixture to enjoy over steaming basmati rice (which Suzie mentions was always available at the family’s takeaway).

“In my head, it’s like tartare—a cross between steak tartare and [rice] carbonara, everything all mixed in,” Suzie says. “It’s got that really delicious, silky feel in your mouth. You feel satisfied with the richness and smoothness of the egg, and the meatiness of the ground beef. And who doesn’t like peas and rice? When I put it all together, it’s, like, ‘Oh, I love this. I absolutely love this.’ Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it. Give it a go in this format, and I bet you’ll like it. It just ticks a lot of boxes.”

Photo by Lizzie Mayson

Serves 4

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

• 1 pound ground beef (or Quorn meatless grounds, for a plant-based option)

• 1 onion, finely diced 

• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine 

• 3 tablespoons oyster sauce 

• 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce 

• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce 

• 2 teaspoons sesame oil 

• 1 teaspoon chicken stock powder 

• Ground white pepper

• 2 cups water

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch paste (see note below)

• 5 ½ ounces fresh or frozen peas

• 4 large eggs (see note below)

• Salt

• Basmati rice, for serving

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan and brown the ground beef.

2. Add the onion and Shaoxing wine, fry for another couple of minutes.

3. Next, mix in the oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sesame oil, chicken stock powder, and a pinch of white pepper.

4. Pour the water into the wok/pan, and bring to a boil, then allow it to simmer for 10 minutes. 

5. Add the cornstarch paste, a tablespoon at a time, and bring the mixture to a boil again. If you want the sauce to be thicker, add more cornstarch paste. 

6. Add the peas to the wok/pan and stir through. Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

7. Serve over a bowl of steaming basmati rice, top with a freshly cracked raw egg, and mix thoroughly.

To make the cornstarch paste: Mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water in a bowl until fully combined. Do not use hot water, as this will create a lumpy mixture. Remember to give the mixture a stir before using, as the cornstarch will have settled to the bottom of the bowl.

Note: If eating raw eggs just isn’t your thing, no worries. Using the back of a tablespoon, make four wells in the ground beef mixture 5 minutes after adding the water to your wok/pan, and crack the eggs into them. Put a lid on (or create a makeshift one using aluminum foil), and cook for the remaining 5 minutes to allow the whites to cook through.

Recipe adapted from “Simply Chinese Feasts: Tasty Recipes for Friends and Family” by Suzie Lee. Copyright © 2024. Used with permission of Hardie Grant. All rights reserved.