Vietnamese bò kho (beef stew) is packed with tender, fall-apart braised chunks of beef loaded with herbs, aromatics and a succulent broth that will have you coming back with more Vietnamese baguette!

Similar to thịt kho, this slow braise / stew is like shooting fish in a barrel to make, and the longer you cook it the softer the meat gets. It'southward an incredibly satisfying meal very accessible to both Vietnamese and American folks. This recipe is pretty hard to mess upward in the kitchen.

This was 1 of the pop dishes at my mom's old eating place considering of its familiarity and accessibility, and something I had often there, in between bottomless icy kokosnoot drinks and fountain sodas.

Vietnamese vs. American beef stew?

Sure, I've eaten and cooked American and French style beef stews and its a similar concept: beef, root veggies (like carrots or potatoes), onion and aromatics.

If y'all are counting the ingredients, differences in the Vietnamese beef stew stand out, such as: lemongrass, ginger, powdered anise and cloves (in the powdered seasoning packet).

Information technology's as well a piddling different in that you lot dip pieces of meat in a salt / pepper and lemon juice mixture only for some variation.

Cooking it down

Paprika powder adds redness to this broth, simply a decent corporeality of love apple paste likewise adds a rich red and sweet besides.

At this phase we're trying to extract flavor from all the aromatics, and essentially merely cook it long enough so the connective tissue in the beef softens. I dearest the fattier cuts, with more connective tissue and tendon which gets mouth-meltingly soft if you cook information technology long enough.

Last additions & herbs

For herbs nosotros take both cilantro and Thai basil (on the side), which I loveee. Experience free to leave either of them out if it's not your matter, only I similar to go actress basil with this!

Cilantro can exist placed in the bowl and wilt, only for basil I similar to add together it just earlier serving so information technology stays greenish and has a fresher hit.

Thinly sliced raw red onion goes well with this too.

How to serve this stew

On the side, we serve information technology with Vietnamese baguette (which is lite and airy compared to regular French baguettes). I dearest this dish with bread or fifty-fifty simply rice sometimes, but it's very commonly eaten with apartment rice noodles instead.

Since it can take a while to eddy and soften the meat, this is a great dish to make in big batches to share, and to eat over the course of a week!

Vietnamese beef stew Pinterest image

  • 2 lb beef shank cut into 3/iv – 1" pieces
  • tap h2o
  • 1 tbsp salt

Aromatics

  • 2 tbsp neutral cooking oil
  • iv cloves garlic roughly chopped
  • i tsp paprika optional, for extra color boost

Broth

  • 1 tbsp Vietnamese beef stew seasoning
  • 1 medium onion quartered
  • 1.5 tbs fresh ginger sliced or pounded
  • one-2 stalks lemon grass use ~7" of the aromatic root area, pounded
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • two tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 3-four pods star anise
  • 4-5 bay leaves
  • one can chicken broth about 2 cups
  • 6 oz kokosnoot soda, Coke, or Sprite
  • 5 cups filtered water or enough to barely embrace the ingredients
  • ii-3 carrots cut into 1" chunks

Accoutrement

  • 6 12" Vietnamese staff of life loaves
  • 2 sliced jalapenos
  • 1 sliced lemon
  • salt and pepper
  • 1 bunch Thai basil

  • Make clean the meat. Add beef to a large pot and add ane tbsp salt and plenty tap water to barely comprehend the meat. Bring to a boil on loftier heat, and once it hits a boil for xxx seconds, impale the estrus, drain, and rinse under running water to clean. If you haven't cut the meat into 3/4 – 1" pieces nevertheless, do information technology now.

  • Marinate the meat. Add all marinade ingredients to the meat in a covered bowl or a bag for at least 2 hours, but overnight would be ameliorate.

  • Aromatics. Preheat a large pot on medium high. When hot, add the oil, let information technology warm a bit, then add all the garlic and stir to slowly saute until it turns light brown. Then add the paprika an stir until it releases its aroma, about 30 seconds.

  • Broth. Add together all broth ingredients to the pot except the carrots. Turn the estrus to loftier until it hits a boil, then reduce heat so information technology maintains a depression boil. Melt until the meat is as tender as you'd like it, about threescore-90 minutes. Add carrots towards the last 10 minutes and so it softens. Discard the cooked onions and star anise pods.

  • Serve with accoutrement equally shown: tearing fresh Thai basil onto your plate, taking occasional bites of jalapeno, and dipping a few pieces of meat into the salt / pepper / lemon juice side for multifariousness.

2/16/2021: Added estimate meat cooking fourth dimension.

Calories: 168 kcal | Carbohydrates: ten m | Poly peptide: 17 g | Fat: 7 g | Saturated Fat: 1 g | Cholesterol: 27 mg | Sodium: 2159 mg | Potassium: 462 mg | Fiber: i g | Sugar: 5 g | Vitamin A: 2822 IU | Vitamin C: 11 mg | Calcium: 38 mg | Iron: 2 mg

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: beef, beef stew, bread, stew, vietnamese

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