Spicy Minced Pork Soboro

thrifting is my other hobby. 

As a college student, living in a country where $1 only can give you 2 Macca's soft serve ice cream whilst back in my home country $1 (converted to my country's currency) can give you a filling meal from the street vendor, there are a few things that I always think about whenever I'm planning my weekly meal.

1. Look at supermarket's catalogue. See what's on specials & work a menu based from there. 

2. If possible, compare prices between different supermarkets or even small markets (this is definitely if you have the time). Even better, go to your nearest fresh market!

3. Must be simple and quiet easy to pull off

4. Utilize the things you have at home (leftovers, spices and sauces that are already in your cupboard, etc)

5. The meal should be fridge / freezer friendly and ideally can be reheated well

6. Can be used for lunchbox meals

This recipe fits all the criteria and I am very happy with it. 

This dish resembles soboro, a Japanese bento box staple which is cooked mince meat that can vary from chicken, beef, pork or even eggs with a few other ingredients like onions, sake, soy sauce, etc.

I've tried Justbento's Basic Meat Soboro recipe a year ago and thought that it is a very great idea since I can easily store it in the fridge use it for my lunchbox for days. 

Yes, I'm a kind of girl who proudly packs her own lunch. 

It's great to bring your own lunch to school (or uni, doesn't matter), especially when all the bills are out on a same week or you just went on a crazy shopping spree hence the emptiness of your wallet and bank account. Oh yeah, it happens to me all the time.

I haven't done any lunchbox recipes for awhile because I'm still on holiday but I think it's best for me to prepare myself with some new lunchbox menus for the (last) upcoming semester from hell. 

Did I mention that this year is going to be my last year ? That I'm graduating soon? 

It's all happening so fast and I am overwhelmed with the thoughts of going into the real world. 

Anyway, here's the recipe!

Spicy Minced Pork

(you'll have quiet a lot of the finished product that can be used for up to a week, depending on your preference in portion size)

Ingredients:

• 500 gr mince pork (just the regular one, no need for the lean one & make sure you defrost it well and throw away the excess water coming out from the defrosting stage)
• 1 whole carrot, peeled and diced
• 1/2 brown onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup diced red capsicum 
• 3 small fresh chillies (I'm talking about the ones that packs real heat! whoop whoop!)
• A bunch of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp shao xing wine (Chinese cooking wine) 
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Maggi sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp Kecap Manis (thick sweet soysauce)
• Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
• A dash of Chinese five spices
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• A dash of Sriracha (optional)

1. Heat the olive oil on medium low heat and then add the garlic, onion, diced carrot and capsicum, sauté them for 2-3 minutes until soft and fragrant

2. Crank up the heat to medium high and add the mince pork. Stir and break them apart with a wooden spoon for 8-9 minutes. 

3. When the meat is partly cooked, add the cooking wine, dark soy sauce, and Maggi sauce and stir well. You will notice a significant amount of moisture coming out from the meat on the bottom of the pan mixed with the wine and the sauces we put it. Give it some time (while keep stirring) until half of the water evaporates.

4. When the water have evaporated and the meat is brown, add chillies, salt, pepper, sugar, chinese five spices and kecap manis. Stir well. If you want to give an extra kick, also add in the sriracha (you might want to add a bit more sugar if you're adding sriracha just to balance it out). 

5. Lastly, add the chopped coriander a few seconds before you turn off the stove. Stir. 

6. Serve warm with a bowl of rice or let it cool before storing it in the fridge / freezer (in a air tight container)

I like this version because it has so much more flavours than the basic soboro. 

I packed this in my lunchbox today because I work until late every Thursday.
I will probably be eating this again tomorrow because I still have leftovers in my fridge.
I think this will be great to be folded into omelettes? perhaps mixed into fried rice? or in a taco shell??