Chinese 'bolognese' (番茄牛肉)

(serves 4)

So i call this chinese bolognese because it uses basically the same ingredients as the traditional spaghetti bolognese except with an asian twist ~ the beef is marinated in soy and it is served with rice instead of pasta. At home mum just calls it tomato with beef, but that sounds rather boring. This is a great simple dish that doesn't take too much prep and is a great accompaniment to rice and vegetables. 

Prep time: 30 min (including marinade time)
Cooking time: 10 min

Ingredients
400g beef mince
500g tomatoes (3-4 tomatoes)
2 cloves garlic
1 T oil
2 T water
1 shallot, finely diced

Marinade
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp cornflour

Method
1. Marinate the beef in the soy sauce, salt, sugar, white pepper and cornflour. Leave for 30 minutes, or ideally overnight.

2. Soak the tomatoes in boiling water for 10 minutes until the skin starts to peel. 
3. Drain the tomatoes and peel off the skin. Roughly chop and keep the juice.

4. Peel and finely dice the garlic. 
5. Heat a pot with 1 T oil, then add the garlic for 10 sec. Add the tomatoes and any juice that comes out of it into the pot and cook for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are soft.
6. Add 2 T cold water into the marinated beef mince and stir to loosen up the mince. 
NB. This avoids the beef from sticking together and forming clumps when you put it in with the tomato mixture.
7. Add the beef mince into the pot and quickly stir it through the tomato to create a smooth mixture. Keep stirring whilst it is on the heat for 3 minutes then remove.
8. Serve with a sprinkle of diced shallots on top and a side of rice!