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A round-up of our most popular mince recipes

Mince is cheap, mince is versatile, mince is good.

Picadillo Source: Danielle Abou Karam

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Mince (any type) is the kind of thing you'll want to keep on hand. You can have a packet or two of mince in the freezer, ready to launch whenever the 'what's for dinner?' blues start. The good news is, those blues need not be a theme-tune for long because we've got a mince meat recipe for every kind of mood and every kind of mince.

If you're looking for meatballs/keftedes/kofta/sliders, look here:

The many ways to have a (meat)ball

Otherwise, join us here as we feast on mince recipes from every cuisine; all of them clean plate-approved by popular demand.

Holy lunch

Street food dining at its finest. Source: Alana Dimou

Make like the Thais and munch on this quickly

stir-fried chicken mince and basil dish

for lunch - served with rice topped with an egg. If you think cooking your own Thai food is a bit daunting, start here.

Bun cha cha cha

Bun cha is grilled pork, rice noodles, herbs and fish sauce all in one bowl. What a combination! Source: Luke Nguyen's Railway Vietnam

So many elements we love about Vietnamese dishes are

in this bowl

. And at its heart, the marinated minced pork and pork belly patties are bursting with fresh flavours.

Shepherd's gem

No need to defrost the potato gems either - pop them straight on the top before the whole lot goes into the oven. Source: Kitti Gould

This is a cute way to make

shepherd's pie

faster to make - no need to mash the potato when potato gems are on hand. The same shortcut will also work in this

cottage pie

Crispy parcels

Mince comes into its own when wrapped up in a flaky pastry. Source: Hardie Grant Books

Baking your pierogi isn't common practice, but it works a treat in

this recipe

. The ground pork and pine nut filling is *chef's kiss*.

A clever twist

RX47-Recipe-AdamLiaw-MinceBourguignon-CreditJiwonKim-TCUS7-3.jpg

Source: Jiwon Kim

This is a

cheaper and faster alternative

to the classic French beef bourguignon. By replacing brisket (or chuck steak) chunks with beef mince and using a supermarket jar of pre-cooked, peeled baby onions instead of tiny pearl onions, you'll save time and money without compromising on taste!

Another delivery

A parcel of crispy pastry filled with eggs, beef and spices? Sign us up! Source: SBS Food

Also in crispy parcel form, this time from Indonesia.

Martabak telur

is stuffed with mince, eggs and spices then deep fried until its thin dough wrapper (or spring roll wrapper, if you making a cheat's version) crisps up nicely. The combination is good and it's one of Indonesia's most prized street foods for a reason.

Lamb martabak

Big flavours

If you're feeling pressed for time, feel free to only make the rice in this dish. It's enough all on its own. Source: Andrew Dorn

Riz al djaj

is a traditional Lebanese dish with chicken mince at its heart and garlic in its soul. There are many steps to the perfect dish, but just make more than you need of everything to add extra flavour to your dishes all week.

Picadillo

Many Cuban dishes have a base of sofrito, a mixture of capsicums, onions, garlic and tomatoes, slow-cooked in oil to create a sweet, fragrant starting point for a meat dish.

Picadillo

is cooked this way, and it is featured almost weekly on chef Danielle Alvarez's comfort food menu at-home.

Picadillo Source: Danielle Abou Karam

Slow boat ragú

If there were one, this would be the real 'bolognese'. Source: Jono Fleming

Mix up your veal and pork mince for an authentic

ragú tagliatelle

that takes a respectable seven hours to cook. Hush now, anything less just isn't bolognese!

Layered perfection

Source: Alan Benson

Let's not forget

lasagne

, one of the most popular mince dishes, well, anywhere ever. Though a thousand interpretations exist, the classic beef-layered-with-pasta-and-cheese version holds the crown. Okay, okay, here's one for the béchamel lovers:

Franca’s classic lasagna with bolognese

Greek response

This particular moussaka calls for a combination of turkey, pork and chicken mince, so go for your life. Source: Poh & Co. 2

If we're listing lasagne, you'd better believe we're listing

moussaka

. It's the kind of bake that brings the punters from far and wide when you mention you're making it. The more the merrier, we say!

Greek lamb pastitsio

Don good

Making a variety of soboro don is a great way to show off your minced meat. Source: Alan Benson

Japanese rice bowl

is basically an homage to minced meat, in this case chicken mince. The salty-sweet mirin, soy sauce and ginger sauce is completely addictive, so lucky this dish is a healthy one - you'll be making it regularly.

Tacokinawa

Japanese chef Matsuzo Gibo started the taco rice craze in 1984, serving US military personnel stationed in Okinawa. Source: Adam Liaw

Another popular Japanese mince dish is

taco rice

. It's one of those strange cross-cultural flavour marriages that just works. In this case, Tex-Mex meets Okinawa.

An element of surprise

RX47-Recipe-WesleyCooperJones-Terrine-CreditJiwonKim-TCUS7-4.jpg

Source: Jiwon Kim

This modern

country chicken terrine

from chef Wesley Cooper Jones includes a special ingredient, adding an element of surprise. It contains black fungus mushroom, an ingredient more commonly used in Chinese recipes.

Sang it loud

There's just something about wrapping flavoursome pork mince in lettuce leaves and crunching merrily away. Source: Adam Liaw

Sang choy bao

is a beloved dish for many because it really is 'fun to eat'. They say that all the time but a dish so rarely lives up to fun hype - this one truly does.

Larb it

This dish has all the wonderful hallmarks of a Thai salad: spicy, sour and salty with a rounded sweetness that doesn't dominate. Source: Danielle Abou Karam

Larb is a spicy Thai salad and all the tastiness is there in this

prawn and pork version

, plus added heat to fire things up.

Duck larb

Ham it up

A hearty beef patty features in the original hamburger, but feel free to mix up your mince. Source: Donna Hay

Have you ever wondered why it's called a

hamburger

when there's no ham in it? The name comes from Hamburg in Germany, where the hamburger first originated. Good to clear that up - let's eat!

Galbi smash double cheeseburger with kimchi special sauce

Keema keen

Minced goat with red kidney beans (razma keema)

This recipe calls for goat's mince, but if that's too tricky, lamb will do nicely. Source: Chris Chen

India's favourite mince dish has got to be

keema

. For the home cook, it makes a curry both achievable and cheap to make. This is highly recommended for a weeknight dinner with plenty of naan or roti to wrap it up.

Stuffed flatbread (keema chapati)

Meatballs for all

RX47-Recipe-MichelleBridges-PorkMeatballs-CreditJiwonKim-TCUS7-4.jpg

Source: Jiwon Kim

Perfect for sharing with your gluten-free or coeliac friends, these

juicy meatballs by Michelle Bridges

are packed with garlic, ginger, and chilli flavours and served with a sweet and zesty lemony slaw.

Sammy’s Venetian meatballs

Koningsberger meatballs

Un-con-firmed

The great thing about an unconfirmed recipe is you can feel free to mix things up to suit yourself. Source: Alan Benson

Chilli con carne

could be called chilli con-troversial. Many American states claim this Mexican-inspired dish as their own, although Texas is the frontrunner. Rest assured, it's worth fighting for.

Turkey chilli

Well stuffed

Whole tomatoes are stuffed with a mixture of rice, lamb mince and fresh herbs and baked until juicy and fragrant. Source: Kitti Gould

Mince is excellent for stuffing into vegetables. Exhibit A: these lamb

and veggie crammed tomatoes

. Exhibit B: these

beef-piled zucchinis

. Exhibit C: these

extra-spiced eggplants

Sarma goodness

This traditional Serbian recipe for pickled cabbage leaves stuffed with a mixture of mince, rice and spices, is bursting with delicious flavours. Source: Tammi Kwok

Cabbage leaves are another go-to wrapper for mince in many cuisines and

sarma

is a testament to why. First, pickle your cabbage, then stuff it with spiced beef and pork mince and see how you go.

Japanese-style cabbage rolls

Cabbage rolls (niños envueltos)

Cabbage rolls (toltott kaposzta)

Pie it on

A golden puff pastry case is a must. Source: Stockfood

There are many ways to meat pie and it's worth trying them all.

This recipe

is for one large pie to feed the clan, but individual pies are easy to make yourself as well. Ditch the frozen variety and make your homemade pies instead!

Aussie beef pies

Kibbeh dreams

A Lebanese specialty: baked kibbeh (kibbeh bil sayneeye), laced with the seven-spice blend baharat. Source: Alan Benson

Kibbeh

is Lebanon's national dish and it's fast becoming Australia's as well. The simple fact is, once you try it, you crave it. Go on, you'll see...

Grounds for feasting

Cypriot-style pastitsio (makaronia tou fournou)

Tarhana

Poh's moussaka

Dry curry mince

Hong Kong mince and peas

Picadillo

Beef and broccoli soboro

Spiced minced meat with savoury custard topping (bobotie)

Pork mince stir-fry (ants climbing up a tree)

Spicy pork noodles

Turkish pizza with spicy mince (lahmacun)

Dobo (Armenian meatloaf)

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6 min read

Published 10 July 2024 10:33am

Updated 25 July 2024 10:15pm

By SBS Food bite-sized

Source: SBS

A round-up of our most popular mince recipes

Mince is cheap, mince is versatile, mince is good.

Stream free On Demand

series • cooking

PG

series • cooking

PG

READ MORE

Holy lunch

Bun cha cha cha

Shepherd's gem

Crispy parcels

A clever twist

Another delivery

READ MORE

Big flavours

Picadillo

Slow boat ragú

Layered perfection

READ MORE

Greek response

READ MORE

Don good

Tacokinawa

An element of surprise

Sang it loud

Larb it

READ MORE

Ham it up

READ MORE

Keema keen

READ MORE

Meatballs for all

READ MORE

Un-con-firmed

READ MORE

Well stuffed

Sarma goodness

READ MORE

Pie it on

READ MORE

Kibbeh dreams

Grounds for feasting

Have a story or comment? Contact Us

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