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Vietnamese Beef Stew | Bo Kho

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By: Cindy Lam Lorimer
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Marinate overnight: 12 hours
Servings: 5
Bo Kho is a Vietnamese beef stew, rich and aromatic, slow-cooked with lemongrass, star anise, and carrots, often served with rice, bread or rice noodles.

Ingredients 

Marinade:

  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • ¼ cup fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 Tbsp Chinese five spice powder
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 3 lbs chuck roast or beef brisket, cut into 1-2 inch pieces

Annatto oil:

  • ½ cup avocado oil , or any neutral oil
  • 1 Tbsp annatto seeds

Ingredients:

  • 6 large shallots, sliced
  • 3 cups Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 Tbsp lemongrass, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp kosher salt
  • 2 Tbsp ketchup
  • 4 Roma tomatoes, quartered
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • ¼ cup star anise
  • 1 liter coconut water
  • 2 liters beef broth
  • 2 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp mushroom powder
  • 5 lemongrass stalks, smashed and bundled together
  • 2 lbs carrots, peeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
  • 1 bay leaf

Optional toppings:

  • bean sprouts
  • Thai chili peppers, chopped
  • lime wedges
  • onions , sliced
  • green onions
  • cilantro
  • rau ram
  • mint leaves
  • basil

Optional to serve with:

  • Hu Tieu noodles, pho noodles, rice or French baguette

Instructions

  • In a medium size bowl, mix all the marinade ingredients together.
  • Then add the beef and massage it into the marinade mix.
  • Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
  • To make the annatto oil, heat oil in a saucepan until it’s just barely hot, but not smoking. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add annatto seeds and let the seeds bleed red, then strain. Put annatto infused oil in a small bowl and set aside to use later.
  • Take beef out of the fridge. Let it sit for an hour to bring it to room temperature.
  • Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium high heat. Add ¼ cup of annatto oil to the pot.
  • Once it’s hot, add half of beef in a single layer. Do not overcrowd. Let it brown without touching it, three minutes per side.
  • Remove beef from pot and repeat process for the remaining half of the beef.
  • In the same pot, once all beef is removed, add 2 Tbsp of annatto oil then add the shallots, lemongrass and garlic and stir fry for a couple of minutes until soft.
  • Add chopped tomatoes and ketchup then stir fry for several minutes until everything is nicely mixed together.
  • Place beef, along with all of its juices, back into the pot and coat them well with the stir fry mix.
  • Add remaining ingredients.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and let it simmer for 1 ½ hours until all the flavors have infused and the carrots are tender.
  • Make sure to occasionally skim the foam from the broth throughout the cooking process.
  • Serve with either noodles and eat as a noodle soup, or dip with French bread.
  • Garnish with herbs and top with bean sprouts, chopped chili and sliced onions. Finally, squeeze a lime in each serving bowl.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 105mg | Sodium: 2913mg | Potassium: 1937mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 19973IU | Vitamin C: 30mg | Calcium: 186mg | Iron: 9mg

Equipment

  • 7 quart pot

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