Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho)

Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho)

There are many who claim that Vietnamese Beef Stew, known as Bò Kho in Vietnamese, is derived from the French Boeuf aux Carottes. But upon closer inspection of both recipes, beef and carrots is pretty much all they have in common.

This classic Vietnamese dish takes the humble beef and carrot stew up a few notches with its generous use of fresh herbs and spices.

Bo Kho

Where the French version is simple and comforting as a mere braise of beef and carrots with perhaps some tomatoes and thyme for additional flavour, the Vietnamese counterpart is fragrant with lemongrass, cloves, star anise and Chinese five-spice powder, and has a spicy kick when served with Thai basil and red chillies.

The only thing both dishes have in common is the crusty baguette served alongside, an idea which the Vietnamese undoubtedly borrowed from the French.

Bo Kho Recipe

My mother first taught me to make Bo Kho using a packet of pre-mixed spices from the Vietnamese grocery store which was employed in the marinade for the meat.

There’s nothing wrong at all in using these pre-mixed spices; I probably would have continued to do so but for the fact that I moved to Switzerland and the variety of Asian food products here is rather limited (although continually improving).

I had experimented with several recipes for this dish over the years with vague success until, one day, a good friend of mine revealed that her secret ingredient was … Coca-Cola.

And this instantly reminded me that my mother used Sarsparilla in her own version of this dish. (She used to teasingly offer me the leftover Sarsparilla to drink, but the mere smell would make me run in the other direction!)

Coca-Cola sounds to be an unusual ingredient but the bubbles have a marvellous way of tenderising the meat, and the sugar content of this fizzy drink means that you can dispense with any sugar in the dish. If you’re a bit apprehensive about using Coca-Cola, don’t be; you need barely a glassful for this recipe.

You can also omit to the Coca-Cola, if you wish. Simply add 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil instead to help the marinade coat the meat.

How to Make Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo Kho)

Step 1

Whisk the ingredients for the marinade in a large bowl. Add the beef and make sure all of the pieces are coated in the marinade. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate for at least 2-3 hours, or preferably overnight.

Step 2

Heat some oil over medium-high heat in a large pot which will take all of the ingredients later.

Remove the beef from the marinade and pat dry with some kitchen paper.

Brown the beef in batches until they are nicely golden on all sides. Due to the sugar content in the marinade, take care not to burn the meat.

Remove the browned meat to a large plate.

Step 3

Sauté the onions and garlic in the same pan until they have softened.

Step 4

Add the tomato paste or canned tomatoes, together with the stock, salt, star anise, cloves, and lemongrass.

Tomato paste is more traditional, but I once ran out of tomato paste and found that canned tomatoes was a great substitute.

Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer.

Step 5

Return the beef to the pot, and add the carrots and daikon. You should have enough liquid to just cover the meat and vegetables.

Turn the heat down to low, and simmer gently with the lid half on for about 2-3 hours, or until the meat is tender. The cooking time will depend on how big your pieces of meat are.

Remove the lid and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes or so, or until the sauce has thickened slightly.

How to Serve Vietnamese Beef Stew

This particular stew typically has bite-sized pieces of beef and carrots which are eaten with chopsticks, and the liquid broth is intended to be sipped with a spoon.

French inspiration can certainly be found in how the dish is served; the Vietnamese usually eat Bo Kho with some crusty baguette (preferably from a Vietnamese bakery) to soak up the aromatic broth, but it can also be served with some flat rice noodles for a more Asian affair.

When serving Vietnamese Beef Stew, the bread is actually a significant component – think half a baguette per person.

Tips For Making Vietnamese Beef Stew

To make this dish knife and fork friendly and a bit more elegant, I prefer to use large pieces of braising meat (about 1 to 2 per person) rather than small, diced up pieces. The large pieces take a little longer to cook, but I find the texture to be much nicer and more tender. But feel free to use smaller pieces as this is more traditional.

I also love carrots in my stew and tend to go rather overboard with them, so use as little or as much as you like, noting that the carrots will add a subtle sweetness to your stew.

Update

This recipe was first published on 6 February 2014. It has been updated with more comprehensive recipe notes.SaveSave