Thit Bo Xao Khoai Tay (Stir Fry Beef with Fries)

Thit Bo Xao Khoai Tay (Beef Stir Fry with Fries):

For this dish you don't really need quality meat any cut is fine. I used the rest of the flat iron steak i bought. The marinade is very similar to the bo luc lac.

Beef Marinade:

-1 lb of flat iron steak cut into long strip
-2 cloves of garlic minced(use half save the half for cooking)
-1 shallot minced
-1/2 teaspoon of salt
-2 teaspoon of sugar
-couple pinch of ground pepper
-1 teaspoon of fish sauce
-1 teaspoon of soy sauce.

Other ingredients:

-cooking oil for cooking and deep frying the potatoes
-1 potato cut into long thin strip (you can also use frozen precook fries)
-1/2 onion sliced into thin wedges

Method:

-marinade beef for about an hour
-if you're using homemade fries then you'll need to deep fried the potato strips until it's golden and crispy. Remove from oil and set aside. If you are using the frozen fries then you can reheat them in the oven or flash fry them in hot oil.
-Heat up 1/2 a tablespoon of oil in a pan or wok.
-add the rest of the minced garlic
-add the beef strips and stir fry until the beef is no longer red.
-add the slice onions to the beef and continue to the stir until the onion are cook
-add the the potatoes and stir fry for couple more minute and you can add more fish sauce if you like

At this point you are done cooking and can serve with rice. The potatoes are kinda like hash brown at this point (shown in the pic above). I, however, like my hash brown extra crispy. So i keep the pan on high heat for a few extra minutes to continue to sear the fries and beef until they are crispy and even a little burned. This is how my mom makes it and I just love it this way!

Bo Luc Lac - Shaking Beef

I make Bo Luc Lac, Shaking Beef, on a weekly basis. It's easy, quick, and healthy! Bo Luc Lac is pan seared marinaded beef cube over a bed of greens, usually watercress, with tomatoes and vinegary onions. Take a bite with a little bit of every ingredients and I guarantee you will have a taste buds explosion. The warmth of the flavorful beef, the crunchy and acidic onions, the bitterness of the watercress, and the refreshing tomatoes goes together so well. After eating this dish I always feel satisfy, happy, and refresh.
You can pretty much use any cut of meat but I always prefer a fattier cut such as rib-eye or chuck roast.  At home we don't have high heat to cook large batch of meat so I don't exactly "shake" my beef.   For best results, cook small batches at a time.  Let the meat sear on high heat and then turn on each side to make sure every part get crispy.   If you don't have access to watercress, a bag of Dole's Spring Mixed will do just fine. I like to have a dipping sauce for the tomatoes and greens. I don't know if it's a Vietnamese thing but I grew up eating tomatoes dipped in salt like it's a fruit. Try this recipe for your next dinner party, it will be a hit for all your senses!


Ingredients ( 2 serving)

Marinade for the beef:

2 lb of rib-eye steak cubed (1/2 inch)
1 tablespoon of garlic minced
1 tablespoon of minced  shallot
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2.5 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning
2 tablespoon of cooking oil

Dressing for every bunch of watercress:

1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
 juice of one lime

Other:
1 large tomatoes sliced
1 sweet onion sliced thinly
2 bunch of watercress
1 lime
cooking oil
black pepper

1. Marinade the beef with 2.5 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar,  2 tablespoon of oil, and 1/2 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning.  Marinate for at least two hours.
2. Thinly sliced the onion and place in a bowl. Add 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and juice of one lime.  Set aside and let soak.
3. Toss watercress with dressing (for every bunch of watercress use 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, juice of one lime, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar.
4. Heat up a wok/frying pan with cooking oil on med-high heat. Add the cubed beef and sear all side of the meat. If you like to your beef to be crispy on the outside, you need to cook them in smaller batch.  If you cook them all at once the heat will not be hot enough to be crispy.  I cook the beef as if I was make medium rare steak.
5. Transfer watercress to serving plate and decorate with tomato.  Add marinated onions on top and then add sizzling beef on top of onions.
6.  Enjoy with fresh steamed rice!

Introduction

I started this blog in 2008 when a friend asked me how to make some Vietnamese dishes and I thought this would be the easiest way for me to share recipes.  I had no idea what blogging was back then and didn't really take it very seriously.  It was just a way for me to jot down cooking instructions and snap some pictures for better clarification.  I never imagined in a million years that my little old blog would still be here today.

This blog mainly focus on Vietnamese cooking because it's my passion.  Not only do I want to learn as much as I can about it but I want to share that knowledge with everybody to help preserve our culture.  I often relate my recipe post to my family life and old memories from Vietnam because it has shaped me into who I am today.

Even though you only see me posting about Vietnamese food I love all kinds of food!  I experiment with all kinds of cuisine in the kitchen.  Maybe one day I will expand my cooking repertoire on my blog but for now I will stick with what I know best.  I will leave you with a few facts about myself.  Thank you for visiting and I hope I have helped you in the kitchen in some way.

1. I grew up watching my mom and aunts cook. They did not use measuring tools, instead they are constantly tasting their ingredients throughout the cooking process. To me your five senses are the best measuring tool you will ever have. This means I do not use measuring tools either and a lot of the time my post will not have exact measurements.  I will try my best to give you an estimate of the ingredients.

2.  I'm not a chef, i'm not a writer, and i'm not a photographer.  But i'm definitely an enthusiast when it comes to cooking, writing, and photography.  Because i'm not a professional in any of these areas I am bound to make mistakes, so please forgive me!

3.  When I was little, a "fortune teller" told my dad that he would be eating good because of me one day.  I guess for a moment he thought I was going to be rich one day (sorry dad maybe one day I will win the lottery!).

4.  My family is from Northern Vietnam, we lived in Southern Vietnam, and my favorite Vietnamese foods are from Central Vietnam.