Ground meat should be stir-fried for a longer time.
When cooking meat, it must be fully cooked to ensure food safety to the greatest extent. Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) revised its internal temperature guidelines for cooking meat, establishing the internal temperature of the meat as the most important control method. It is recommended that people memorize the following 3 cooking temperatures that must be reached when cooking meat to ensure safety.
63°C: Suitable for slices, chunks, and ribs of beef, pork, lamb, and fish.
71°C: Suitable for ground meat of the aforementioned types.
74°C: Suitable for all poultry, such as chicken and duck.
The USDA points out that when cooking, a thermometer can be inserted into the thickest part of the meat, and only when the above temperature is reached is it considered safe. Unlike foreigners, Chinese people don't typically use thermometers when cooking, so it's especially important not to turn off the heat just because the meat looks cooked on the outside. It's crucial to wait until the inside of the meat is fully cooked. As a precaution, at least another 3 minutes of cooking should be continued at this point.
In addition, it should be noted that many people believe ground meat cooks quickly and thus can have its cooking time shortened. However, in reality, whether it's store-bought or freshly ground at home, the processing process can expose the meat to more bacteria. Therefore, when stir-frying ground meat, even after it turns white, it should be cooked for another two to three minutes over medium or high heat.