Hachis Frites (Tahitian Minced Beef, Fries, and Rice)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide 12-inch skillet or sauté pan
• •Rice cooker or 3-quart saucepan
• •Sheet pan, air fryer basket, or fryer for the fries

Instructions

1. 1

   Start the rice

   Cook the white rice first, because the plate wants a soft landing under all that beef and fries. Keep it warm and covered. Tahiti's hachis frites is generous food, so don't make the rice precious. It is there to catch every bit of sauce.

2. 2

   Crisp the fries

   Bake, air-fry, or fry the potatoes until the edges are crisp and the centers are soft. Salt them while they are hot so the salt sticks. You want enough crunch to stand up under the hachis, because limp fries go sad fast under sauce.

   Frozen fries are fine here. This is roulotte comfort, not a contest. Use what gets dinner on the table.
3. 3

   Brown the beef

   Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat, add the ground beef, and spread it out so it browns before it stews. Let the bottom take color, then break it into small pieces. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and the pan smells savory, not raw.

4. 4

   Build the base

   Add the onion, garlic, and carrot to the beef. Cook, stirring, until the onion turns soft and glossy and the carrot disappears into the meat. Stir in the tomato paste and let it darken against the pan for a minute. That little bit of roasting gives the hachis its backbone.

5. 5

   Sauce the hachis

   Stir in the soy sauce, Worcestershire, and beef stock or water, scraping the browned bits from the pan. Simmer 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid reduces into a glossy coating around the minced beef. If you want it thicker, stir in the cornstarch slurry and simmer one more minute. Taste for salt and pepper only at the end, because the sauces already bring salt.

6. 6

   Pile the plate

   Spoon warm rice onto each plate, heap the crisp fries beside it or partly over it, then ladle the glossy hachis over the fries. Scatter green onion on top if you like the bite. Put ketchup, mayonnaise, or chili sauce on the table and let people finish their own plate. That's how everyday food stays alive.

Chef Tips

• •Use beef with a little fat, around 80 to 85 percent lean. Too lean and the hachis eats dry, too fatty and the plate gets heavy before you get halfway through.
• •If the pan looks watery after the beef goes in, keep cooking until the liquid leaves and the meat starts to brown. Browned beef tastes like supper. Grey beef tastes tired.
• •This is Tahitian everyday food, so the sauces at the table are not a problem. Ketchup, mayonnaise, chili sauce, all of it belongs if that is how your people eat it.
• •Want to stretch it? Add more carrot, a handful of peas, or a diced bell pepper. No shame. Feed the table first.
• •For the canoe-crop side of the meal, serve this with roasted ʻuru, breadfruit, when you can get it. The hachis is modern comfort, the ʻuru reminds the plate where the older roots are.

Advance Preparation

• •Cook the rice up to a day ahead and reheat it covered with a splash of water so it turns soft again.
• •The hachis can be cooked 2 days ahead and warmed gently in a skillet with a little water or stock.
• •Cook the fries right before serving. That is the one part that does not like to wait.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 560g)