Charles Phan’s Vietnamese Shaking Beef – Bò Lúc Lắc

Citizens, my last recipe was for a legendary American steak recipe from nearly 150 years ago – lets mix it up for this one and go with a totally different and equally classic Vietnamese recipe also beloved here in America!

Bò Lúc Lắc (Sauté Diced Beef) is cubed beef sautéed with cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, pepper, and soy sauce dish in French-inspired Vietnamese cuisine.

The name literally translate to “shaking beef”, which is cut into small cubes the size of playing dice (hột lúc lắc) before being sautéed.

Beef used to be a luxury ingredient in Vietnamese cuisine, therefore the dish is mostly served in formal events, such as wedding banquet and anniversaries. In the USA, this dish is often called “shaking beef”, which follows from the Vietnamese name of the dish and refers to part of the cooking process.

In neighboring Cambodia, there is an almost identical dish called Lok lak. It is a Cambodian cuisine version of the dish, served on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes and dipped in a sauce consisting of lime juice, salt and black Kampot pepper (tek merec).

Super-Chef Charles Phan’s Bò Lúc Lắc (shaking beef) !

In his version, cubes of beef filet are sautéed very quickly with red onions and a vinaigrette and then served with a salt and pepper lime dipping sauce over watercress and the ubiquitous bowl of white rice.

, I could not hope to possibly improve upon Chef Phan’s legendary version made with the luxurious filet mignon cut, so I present it to you unadulterated, straight from the source himself! 😀

Battle on – The Generalissimo

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