Weekly Salad 6: Bò Lúc Lắc – Vietnamese Shaking Beef with Watercress

 

 

There are a lot of fantastic versions for this dish. At restaurants, they will sometimes serve this with crispy fried potatoes or rice. I often make this just as a salad with no rice or potatoes. It’s quick and easy dish that I can put together for a weeknight meal. Sometimes, I’ll quickly pickle the shallots in vinegar and sugar before topping the final dish. Here, I’ve added them to the stir-fry. I use tomatoes whenever they’re in season. Watercress is great this time of year, so I find myself making this dish quite often.

 

BÒ LÚC LẮC – *SHAKING* BEEF WITH WATERCRESS

INGREDIENTS: (4 servings)

For the beef marinade:

• 1 lb. (~454 g) beef sirloin, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 tsp. (10 ml) fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoons (5 ml) soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon 2 tsp. (10 g) raw sugar
• 2-3 small cloves garlic, mince

For the salad:

• 1 Tbl. vegetable oil
• 1-2 bundles of watercress, torn into approx. 1.5 inch (~4cm) sprigs
• 3 med-large shallots, thinly sliced
• 2-3 tomatoes (quartered) [when in season]
  
• fresh cracked pepper

STEPS:

• Wash, dry and prepare the watercress. Set aside.
• Mix all the ingredients for the beef marinade and allow to marinate for about 30 minutes. Add the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the beef (along with marinade ingredients) and quickly stir-fry [shaking] it until seared on the edges, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• When the beef is done, add the shallots, quickly tossing them to combine and turn off the heat.
• To plate, arrange the watercress on the plate and top with the beef [and then the tomatoes]. Sprinkle fresh cracked pepper over the entire dish. Serve warm.

 

Bon appétit!