Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)
This is one of my family’s favorite Vietnamese dishes. I love to make this when tomatoes are in season because they bring such a colorful and flavorful addition to the plate. Fresh watercress is not always available in traditional supermarkets but since they are a staple in Asian cuisine, they are found year round in Asian markets. I buy my watercress from the Hong Kong Supermarket here in Norcross. Because this is a stir-fry, it makes for an easy weeknight meal. Once you marinate the steak overnight, dinner is on the table in 15 minutes.
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Marinated Beef Tenderloin
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2 lbs. beef tenderloin, cut into 1” pieces
1 Tablespoon garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
Mix the garlic, sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce together until sugar dissolves. Pour into a large Ziploc bag and add the beef tenderloin. Massage the bag until all the beef pieces are nicely coated. Refrigerate overnight.
Vinaigrette
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Whisk all ingredients together until sugar dissolves. Set aside.
Stir-fry
½ cup red onion, cut into 1”x ¼” strips
2 bunches of watercress, ends trimmed
3 tomatoes, sliced
1Tablespoon peanut oil
Hot cooked rice
Heat the oil in a large wok or sauté pan over high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Remove from the wok and set aside. Add half the marinated beef to the wok and spread them out so they don’t steam but sear for about 2 minutes. Shake the wok until the beef pieces turn over and sear for 2 minutes more. Use tongs if they stick and won’t flip over. Remove the beef from the wok and repeat with the remaining beef.
Lay the sliced tomatoes around the edge of a serving platter and grind a few grinds of black pepper over them. Toss the watercress with half the vinaigrette and mound in the center of the tomato slices. Top the watercress with the cooked beef and then the cooked onion. Pour the remaining vinaigrette on top. Serve with hot cooked rice.
Serves 4-6
