Vietnamese cuisine is well known for its utilization of fresh ingredients, an emphasis on meat and vegetables, as well as its flavorful use of seasonings. You will often find herbs and seasonings such as lemongrass, cinnamon, ginger, and bay leaves in Vietnamese dishes.
For all of these reasons, Thit Bo Kho or Vietnamese Beef Stew is a perfect example of Vietnamese cuisine. Tender beef braised in cinnamon and stewed in a mix of vegetables and seasonings until it is ready to be served with a crisp toasted baguette.
The total meal prep time is roughly 30 minutes. Beyond prep, you need to account for 4 to 24 hours of marinating time, and 1.5 hours for stewing.
Our recommendation is to prep the meat mixture for marination the night before you plan to cook the stew. Then let the mixture sit overnight in your refrigerator. This makes this recipe a great meal for families looking for a quick prepared fix during the week.
Ingredients
● 2 pounds stew meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
● 1 onion, chopped
● 4 pieces of ginger
● 3 cloves garlic, minced
● 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
● 2 tablespoons sugar
● 2 tablespoons olive oil
● 3 whole Burma Spice Star Anise
● 2 sticks of Burma Spice’s Ceylon Cinnamon
● 1 tablespoon of crushed lemongrass paste
● 1/4 cup tomato paste
● 4 cups of organic beef broth (used as needed)
● 2 Burma Spice Mediterranean Bay Leaves
● 2 tablespoons soy sauce
● 4 carrots, sliced ½-inch-thick
● Chopped green onions
● Cilantro
● Toasted French baguette
The stars of the show
As with all Vietnamese cooking, the key to the flavors of the meal are the spices. Luckily for you, Burma Spice just happens to have the best trio to make your THIT BO KHO a smashing success.
Step 1
Add cut beef cubes, onions, ginger, garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, cinnamon, and star anise into a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly, coating the beef thoroughly with the oyster sauce.
Step 2
Place the mixture in a large sealable plastic bag. Marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 24 hours. As previously noted, Steps 1 and 2 are perfect for meal prep the night before you plan to serve the dish.
Step 3
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven. Toast the Burma Spice Star Anise and Burma Spice Ceylon Cinnamon sticks for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to burn these ingredients. Simply brown until that amazingly fragrant smell hits you, and take off the heat. You will add these items back into the mixture once you are ready to simmer the stew.
Step 4
Brown the marinated beef mixture in batches. As you brown it mix in some of your crushed lemongrass paste with each batch. If you put the entire mixture into the Dutch oven at one time the amount of liquid produced will keep your meat from browning. You likely want to divide your mixture into 4 batches. Put each batch into a large bowl and move to brown the next.
Step 5
Stir in tomato paste to coat your beef mixture thoroughly.
Step 6
Add beef broth to your mixture. You just want to cover your beef, so add the broth slowly. Add your bay leaves, soy sauce, toasted ceylon cinnamon sticks, and star anise into the stew.
Step 7
Bring the stew to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 1 and 1/2 hours or until beef is tender.
Step 8
Add your cut carrots during the last 15 minutes of cooking time. Simply cook until the carrots are tender.
Top with green onions and cilantro. Toast your baguette and serve!
This recipe is a great meal for any day. It is a tender, flavorful dish that will have your family asking for more.
This is a guest blog entry.
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