We went to Phnom Pehn restaurant not so long ago, and one of my staple dishes there is Bo Luc Lac (or more correctly: Bò Lúc Lắc). It is prepared differently from what I had in Cambodia (and one of our Vietnamese friends says it’s plain wrong), in that it was more like a Chinese stir-fry, rather than wok-seared cubes. I’ve never had it at home, as my mother’s cooking is totally fusion of several Asian influences. Don’t get me wrong; it’s absolutely delish–just the right amount of sweetness to hit the spot, but I wanted to try to make the “real thing”, so naturally, I turned to the net.
I unfortunately had an indeterminate amount of meat, and I eyeballed everything, so I can’t actually list a proper ingredient list. A couple recipes here and here, and a video from “Tran Can Cook” can act as references. The boys are hilarious, with all their gangsta-ness.
Ingredients
- beef, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
- dark soy sauce
- sesame oil
- oyster sauce
- garlic, minced
- black pepper
- fish sauce
- sugar
Method
- Make a marinade by mixing all ingredients together, except for the beef. Have a taste to make sure it is to your liking and adjust accordingly.
- Add in the beef and mix well to coat in marinade. Set aside for 20 minutes to 2 hours.
- Heat up some oil in a wok or skillet until it begins to smoke.
- Put in a layer of beef and let sear for about 1 minute and then shake the skillet so the beef cubes rotate, and another side is able to sear.
- Leave it for 30 seconds or so and shake again.
- Continue to sear and shake for another 2 or so minutes, until nicely browned, and medium rare.
- Serve on a bed of watercress or butter lettuce, and garnish with tomato and cucumber.
- If desired, you can saute some onions in the pan with the juices.
- Enjoy with lots of rice.
Comments
Some people like to have this with ketchup rice.
It is often served with dipping sauce, but I find that the marinade itself is very flavourful, so I don’t bother.
Another nice touch is to have an egg (sunny-side, or over easy) on top of the rice, and break the yolk, to mix with the rice.
I also had pickles with this, because it just isn’t a Vietnamese meal without the carrots and daikon.
Apron and hood fan recommended =P
