Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef)

Made this and Minh said it "tasted like his Mom's"

Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef)

Ingredients:

Beef Marinade:

1.5 lbs beef sirloin (or any cut you like) cut into 1″ cubes

2 tbs minced garlic

1.5 tbs sugar

2 tbs oyster sauce

1 tbs fish sauce

1 tbs sesame oil

1 ts thick soy sauce

Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1.5 tbs sugar

1/2 tbs salt

Dipping Sauce:

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 ts kosher salt

1/2 ts fresh cracked pepper

1 red onion, thinly sliced

2 bunches of watercress, long stems trimmed

2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

Cooking oil for frying

Method:

Prepare marinade by combining garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, fish sauce, thick soy sauce and sesame oil with the beef for at least half an hour, preferably 1-2 hrs.

Prepare vinaigrette by mixing rice vinegar with salt and sugar. It should be a balance of sour, salty and sweet.

Thinly slice the red onion and use about 3-4 tbs of the vinaigrette to pickle and set aside covered in fridge for about 10 minutes. Prepare bed of watercress and tomatoes in a serving platter and set aside.

Heat a large wok or pan over high heat. Add about 2 tbs cooking oil and when it begins to smoke, add an even layer of beef and allow to sear for about 2 minutes, before “shaking” to sear the opposite sides for about another 1-2 minute more to brown all the sides.  Do this in batches to cook all the beef if necessary.

Transfer beef to bed of watercress and tomatoes. Drizzle another 3-4 tbs of vinaigrette over the beef and greens and top with pickled red onions. Lastly, squeeze lime juice over salt and pepper in a small ramekin.

Cook’s Note:

We like our beef medium rare and test the meat by touch and sight–it will plump up slightly and be bouncy to the touch with a spatula.