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Vietnamese Stewed Beef
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  • Success Rating: 90%

Vietnamese Stewed Beef

by Divina P in Test Kitchen

Chunks of beef braised with lemon grass, ginger, shallots, garlic and spices. It is traditionally served with baguette.

Serves
6 to 8
Active Time
30 mins
Total Time
2 - 3 hrs

Step 1: Marinating the Beef

Marinating the Beef
  • 2 lbs beef chuck steak
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 5 shallots
  • 2 stalks lemongrass
  • 1 inch piece ginger
  • 3 T fish sauce
  • 2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 2 tsp curry powder (Vietnamese or Thai, if available)
  • 1 tsp brown sugar

Prepare the beef by trimming off excess fat. Cut into 2 inch cubes. Place in a bowl.

Peel the garlic and shallots and cut in half.

Cut off the dry leafy tops from the stalks of lemon grass. Peel away outer layers until you reach the moist and tender core. Crush the lemon grass stalks with the flat side of the knife, then chop crosswise.

Peel the ginger and roughly chop.

In a food processor, combine the garlic, shallots, lemon grass and ginger and process until finely chopped. Add these to the beef along with the fish sauce, cinnamon curry powder and sugar. Mix well.

Marinate beef for 30 minutes.

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Step 2: Cooking the Meat

Cooking the Meat
  • 1 large onion
  • 6 medium carrots
  • 4 tbsp peanut oil
  • 2 star anise
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 4 cups water, chicken or beef stock (approx)
  • 3-4 small Thai chilis, pricked with a fork
  • sea salt, to taste
  • 1 cup torn basil leaves
  • 1 cup cilantro leaves

Meanwhile, peel onion. Cut in half through the root and slice thinly. Peel carrots and cut them lengthwise in half, then cut the halves crosswise into 2 inch pieces.

Heat a wok or a large pot over high heat. Drizzle 2 T oil and continue heating until the oil is hot. Add half of the marinated beef and stir-fry until browned on all sides, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer to plate. Add another 2 T of oil and cook the rest of the meat.

Transfer the beef and juices to a plate. Reheat wok or pot and add the onion and stir-fry for a minute. Return all the beef and its juices to the wok. Add star anise, tomato paste, stock and the chili. Stir well to mix. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer over low heat, about 1 1/2 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Season with sea salt. Add the carrots and continue cooking until the beef and carrots are tender.

The stew should be rich, but not too thick. Season to taste.

Remove the chili (or remove them when you have reached the desired heat) and the star anise.

Add torn basil leaves and cilantro leaves. Mix well. Serve hot with steamed rice, rice noodles or baguette.

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Notes

About the marinade: To avoid burning the aromatics (garlic, shallots, lemon grass and ginger), just marinate the beef with the fish sauce, curry powder, cinnamon and sugar. Just add the aromatics while stir-frying the onion.

After browning the meat and combining all the ingredients, this dish was transferred and cooked in a pressure cooker for 30-40 minutes. Then off the heat and rest for 20 minutes before opening. Then, add the carrots and cook for another 2 minutes. The sauce might be little bit thinner but it's still thick enough to be called a sauce.