Wok-Seared "Shaking" Beef - Thit Bo Luc Lac

Some Vietnamese foods have been poorly translated into English, and thit bo luc lac is one of them. Thit bo means beef and luc lac refers to how you have to shake the skillet or wok to cook the small pieces of meat. For years, my husband expected the meat to quiver and I assured him that the dish wasn't all that dramatic. It's had its usefulness at crossover Vietnamese restaurant menus where it's presented as the meaty option for steak lovers. Let's just say it's become downright popular, despite it not being part of many Vietnamese home cook's repertoire. It's actually a celebratory dish.

In general, Vietnamese people, like many other Asian people, don't eat large piece of meat unless they're cut into small pieces. We just traditionally didn't (and people still don't) have enough meat for things like roast beef. And, if you slice anything up, it will feed people on biblical proportions! In the case of thit bo luc lac, named after the back and forth shaking of the skillet as you sear the cubes of beef, was likely a clever dish invented to deal with tough cuts of steak.  Many Vietnamese restaurants in America prepare this dish with super tender, expensive fillet but it's rather hard to find such a splendid preparation in Vietnam. And the beef you get in Vietnam is likely to be tough and from an animal that's walked plenty of miles and eaten lots of grass, not grain. The meat will have some good chew and flavor. It's not for those with weak teeth.

Abroad we have lots of good tender, flavorful  beef for tasty renditions of this dish without having to spend tons of money. When I prepare "shaking" beef, I use my favorite inexpensive cut of beef -- trip tip (bottom sirloin, cullotte steak) and have the butcher select marbly pieces. At my local grocery store, Shopper's Corner, I typically pay about$6/pound for the steaks. Once home, I trim off most of the excess fat before cutting the beef into cubes.

With its peppery bite, the watercress is a great contrast to the beef. Coating the watercress in a light dressing and then putting the hot beef over the top, the cress wilts ever so slightly and the beef juices and dressing blend together into a tangy sauce that's great spooned over rice. This is a pretty easy dish to whip up from readily available ingredients.

Wok-seared "Shaking" Beef
Thit Bo Luc Lac

Use both the light and dark soy sauces if you want a little extra deep color. Feel free to dress up the final platter with some tomato wedges.

1 1/4 pound tri-tip (bottom sirloin/culotte) steaks

Marinade:
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon regular (light) soy sauce, or 2 teaspoons regular (light) and 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

Dressing:
1 shallot, thinly sliced (1/4 cup total)
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 or 2 pinches salt
3 to 5 cracks black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons water

4 cups watercress, use only the tender leafy parts
2 tablespoon canola or peanut oil

1. Trim excess fat from the steaks and then cut each into 3/4-inch cubes. In a bowl, combine the pepper, sugar, garlic, oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce. Add the beef and toss well to coat. Set aside to marinade for 2o minutes or up to 2 hours.

2. For the dressing, put the shallot in a mesh strainer and rinse under water for about 10 seconds to reduce some of the harshness. In large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar and water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the shallot. Put the watercress on top but hold off on tossing.

3. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the beef and spread it out in one layer. Cook in batches, if necessary. Let the beef sear for about 1 minute, before shaking the wok or skillet to sear another side. Cook for another 30 seconds or so and shake. Cook the beef for about 4 minutes total, until nicely browned and medium rare.

In between shakes, toss the watercress and transfer onto a platter or serving dish. When the beef is done, pile the beef on to of the watercress and serve immediately with lots of rice.

Comments

[Nate]

I love this dish! The version at Thien Long Restaurant on Silver Creek Rd at Lexann Ave in the Evergreen neighborhood is excellent. The menu says it's "filet mignon" but I don't know what cut it is - it's mighty tender though! They serve it with "tomato rice" that is just awesome. Do you have a recipe for this "tomato rice"?

[Andrea Nguyen]

Nate, I'll attack tomato rice soon...! Thanks for the tip.

[Simon Bao]

Andrea, I've also seen those recipes that call for using beef tenderloin (filet) for Bo Luc Lac. I thought, that's unfair both to the beef, and to the dish.

I confess I do not know what a culotte steak is. I probably use them and don't know it. I have often eaten Bo Luc Lac made with beef eye round, which is perhaps too lean and not very tender - but it's still quite good. Surely brings that "chew" you mention. For myself, I like to use what's just labeled "sirloin steak," which I'm told is almost always bottom sirloin - or strip steaks, if they're on sale and the marbling looks right.

Andrea have you ever added Arugula to the Watercress? It's not the same flavor, but it's peppery and rich and seems meant to go well with meats. It's a nice change to add another fast-wilting green to the Watercress, according to the flavors one wants.

[Michelle]

This is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes! My husband and I love to savor the sauce. I look forward to the tomato rice recipe!

[Joel]

Andrea, it does look a little like a common fare served in Hong Kong's Vietnamese restaurants of diced steak with black pepper (bo xao hat tieu den - hopefully I got the spellings correct as I don't speak Vietnamese and I copied this from a HK Vietnamese cookbook, Enjoy Vietnamese Cooking, by Wilson Kwok). The recipe explicitly calls for fillet. Sadly, I have never encountered any good or even passable versions in New Zealand.

There is also a dish with the same name prepared by the Golden Bull in HK, but is more like a Vietnamese presentation of the classical French dish of steak with black pepper sauce. The pepper sauce is French, and steak is done to medium before added back to the pan with sauce for finishings. It was my favourite Vietnamese-influenced dishes otehr than pho when I was a boy in Hong Kong.