Best Bo Kho Recipes

BO KHO (VIETNAMESE BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Marinate the beef chuck and beef shank for 30 minutes with 2 cloves of garlic, 1 2-inch piece of ginger (sliced thinly), fish sauce, five spice, cinnamon, and vegetable oil. Make sure to include the bone from the beef shank in the marinade. Set aside.
• In a large soup pot, saute onions, the rest of the ginger, and the rest of the garlic for 1 minute. Next, add the marinated beef and cook for 2-3 minutes until all sides are seared. Deglaze the pot with red wine and cook until the alcohol is burned out. You shouldn't be able to smell the alcohol anymore once it has burned out.
• Add in the lemongrass, carrots, daikon, bay leaf, salt, tomato paste, Better Than Bouillon beef base, and water. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 2 hours. Check on the soup every half hour and scoop away any impurities that you see.
• Once done, ladle soup into a bowl. Top with mint and lime juice to finish it off. Eat with bread, rice, or rice noodles.

BO KHO (VIETNAMESE BRAISED BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Make the marinade: Stir together fish sauce, sugar, ginger, 5-spice powder and pepper.
• Put beef in a large bowl, add marinade and massage into meat. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes, or longer if time permits (may be wrapped and refrigerated overnight if desired).
• Put oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, fry the beef cubes in small batches, taking care not to crowd them, until nicely browned. When all beef is browned, return chunks to pot. Add shallots, stir to combine and continue cooking for 4 to 5 minutes, or until softened.
• Add tomato, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, salt and annatto, if using, and stir well to coat, then add star anise, cinnamon and chile. Cover with 4 cups water and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to a simmer, cover with lid ajar and cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until fork-tender.
• Add carrots to pot and cook 15 minutes more. Skim fat from surface of broth as necessary (or refrigerate overnight and remove congealed fat before reheating).
• To serve, ladle into individual bowls. Garnish with scallions, cilantro, mint and basil.

BO KHO: SPICY VIETNAMESE BEEF STEW WITH NOODLES

Steps:

• First marinate the beef. Combine the beef with the garlic, ginger, fish sauce, five-spice powder, and brown sugar until each piece is evenly coated. Marinate for 30 minutes.
• Next, heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large stock pot or Dutch oven over high heat. Add the stalks of lemongrass and allow them to infuse the oil for 1 minute. Next, add the minced lemongrass and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the onions and cook until translucent. Then add all of the beef to the pot, and brown evenly on all sides. Add the tomato paste.
• Stir and cook uncovered for 5 minutes. Add the water, coconut water, star anise, ground black pepper, chili powder, annatto, and paprika. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
• After an hour has passed, add the carrots, salt, soy sauce, and chili oil. Simmer for another 40 minutes.
• To serve, remove the large lemongrass stalks and any star anise pods you can fish out. Cook your noodles per package instructions, transfer to bowls, and ladle the soup over the top.
• Garnish with cilantro, Thai basil, and raw onion, and serve with some lime wedges on the side.

Bò KHO (VIETNAMESE BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Clean the meat. Add beef to a large pot and add 1 tbsp salt and enough tap water to barely cover the meat. Bring to a boil on high heat, and once it hits a boil for 30 seconds, kill the heat, drain, and rinse under running water to clean. If you haven't cut the meat into 3/4 - 1" pieces yet, do it now.
• Marinate the meat. Add all marinade ingredients to the meat in a covered bowl or a bag for at least two hours, but overnight would be better.
• Aromatics. Preheat a large pot on medium high. When hot, add the oil, let it 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 all broth ingredients to the pot except the carrots. Turn the heat to high until it hits a boil, then reduce heat so it maintains a low boil. Cook until the meat is as tender as you'd like it, about 60-90 minutes. Add carrots towards the final 10 minutes so it softens. Discard the cooked onions and star anise pods.
• Serve with accoutrement as 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 variety.

AROMATIC AND SPICY BEEF STEW (THIT BO KHO)

Steps:

• Cut the beef into 1in cubes and set aside.
• Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic. Peel the shallots, but leave whole.
• Cut the lemon grass into 1in sections, from the bottom to about 1in from the top; cut off and discard the straw like top. Crush each section lightly with a mallet or other heavy object.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat.
• Add the onions, garlic and shallots, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the lemon grass and continue to fry, stirring, until the onions are lightly browned. Turn off the heat.
• Take the shallots out of the pan and set aside.
• Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a large, wide, preferably non-stick pan over a high heat. When hot, quickly fry the meat cubes in batches, turning to brown them all over. Remove with a slotted spoon. Brown all the meat in this way.
• Return all the meat to the large pan. Add 4 cups water and the garlic mixture. Coarsely chop the beans in the yellow bean sauce (if not already crushed) and add them too.
• Also put in the chili powder, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns and sugar. Bring to the boil, then cover, lower the heat and simmer gently for 1¼ hours.
• Add the reserved shallots, cover again, and simmer for a further 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened a little and the meat is tender. Skim the fat off the top of the stew before serving.

VIETNAMESE BEEF STEW (BO' KHO)

Steps:

• Mix lemongrass, fish sauce, 5-spice powder, ginger, brown sugar and bay leaf, marinate the beef for 30 minutes.
• Over high heat, heat oil in a heavy-bottemed 5-quart pot, sear the beef quickly then remove, reserve lemongrass and bay leaf for later use.
• Reduce heat to medium, cook onions till translucent (5 minutes), then add tomato and cook with lid on for another 12-15 minutes.
• If sauce is too thick, add a bit of water.
• Add back the beef, lemongrass, bay leaf and star anise, cook uncovered for 5 minutes then add water.
• Bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Add carrots and simmer for another 45 minutes until beef and carrots are tender.
• Remove bay leaf, lemongrass and star anise before serving with cilantro and Thai basil.
• Taste great with steam rice or French bread.