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Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bò Lúc Lắc)
The name of this Vietnamese dish refers to the way cooks shake the pan while the beef cooks. We, however, prefer to minimize the meat’s movement so the pieces achieve a nice dark, flavor-building sear. Sirloin tips (also called flap meat) or tri-tip are excellent cuts for this recipe—both are meaty, tender and reasonably priced (many recipes for shaking beef call for pricier beef tenderloin). If you can find baby watercress, use a 4-ounce container in place of the regular watercress; baby cress has a particularly peppery bite that pairs well with the beef. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
4
Servings
Tip
Don’t cut the beef into pieces smaller than 1½ inches or they may overcook. And don’t forget the lime wedges for serving. A squeeze of fresh lime juice brightens the other flavors.
30 minutes
Ingredients
-
1½
pounds beef sirloin tips or tri-tip, trimmed, patted dry, cut into 1½-inch pieces
-
3
tablespoons soy sauce, divided
Directions
-
01In a medium bowl, combine the beef, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and ½ teaspoon pepper. Toss to combine and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together 4 tablespoons of the lime juice, the fish sauce, sugar and remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce.
Pardon the interruption
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Just had it for dinner a few minutes ago! Had to review immediately. AMAZING !!! Wow! So many strong distinct flavors. It was a party of flavors in my mouth! We both loved it and will do it again. It’s not as fast/easy as you state (lots of prep work), but worth the work. Rice is a must to pick up the delicious sauce. Watercress goes so well & makes it so fresh. We had it with sichuan broccoli, also very good.
Thank you!!!
This is not a very good version of this dish, at all, IMO. Excessive use of soy sauce dominates the flavor in a way that is not traditional. Vietnamese dishes use soy sauce very sparingly. Most often it’s in fact a milder tasting Maggie sauce not straight up soy. And it’s balanced with oyster sauce. I don’t know who made this up, but it looks and tastes like white people’s Interpretation of Vietnamese Food and does not match up with any real Vietnamese recipes. I am white, by the way, And only realized this after making this recipe and going “yuck” tastes like a saltlick. Look up Andrea Nguyen’s version for Bob Appetit instead For a much better balanced flavor.
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This is was one of my favorite dishes in Vietnamese restaurants. I made this recipe and substituted sautéed cubed mushrooms for the beef in order to keep with a more vegetable friendly diet, and it worked really well, and the time estimates were correct. I am usually distrustful of reviews for recipes where the reviewer changes the recipe, but this one so easily converted to a vegan version, I thought it was worth a mention. Thanks for a great recipe!