Giddy Tigers

For those who did not catch my response to the comments I received on my Vietnamese food post a while back, let me reiterate that I DID NOT cook the beef stew shown in that picture 😛

Instead I had tarpowed the stew for dinner that day.

However, today I decided to try making my own Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo’ Kho). Hehehe…itchy hands make for a busy kitchen, eh?  I googled for the recipe, and not surprisingly, I found so many different variations of the stew. So instead of just following one recipe to the tee, I mixed and matched several and came up with my own.

Here’s my recipe for Vietnamese Beef Stew:

Ingredients
For the marinade:

• Chunks of beef (I chose the one that stated “good for stews”), about 1lb
• 1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped
• A few slices of fresh ginger
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp five-spice powder
• 1 or 2 star anise
• 3 tbsp fish sauce (this is a must for Vietnamese cuisine)
• dash of salt
• some freshly ground black peppercorn

N.B. I did not measure everything using measuring tools, most of the time I just did the agak-agak trick.

For the stew:

• Vegetable oil for sautéeing
• 1 bombay onion, sliced (oh shucks… I just realized I left out the garlic!)
• 1 small can tomato purée
• 3 cups water
• 1-2 carrots, cut into chunks

For the garnishing:

• Fresh coriander

How I experimented:

• Marinade the stuff under the marinade section for at least 30 minutes.  I kinda lost track of time, but anyhoo…
• Then heat up the vegetable oil in a pot or deep saucepan and sautée the beef chunks for just a little while.  Remove and place back into the marinade bowl.  Set aside.
• Sautée the bombay onions for a few minutes till fragrant, then add the tomato purée.  Add some water to prevent it from becoming too thick.
• Simmer for about 5 minutes covered.
• Pour the beef chunks and everything else in the marinade into the pot, and add the 3 cups of water.  Bring mixture to a boil, add the carrots and simmer on low for about an hour and a half.  I suppose it would be easier had I used a slow cooker, but I do not have one with me here in US, so I had to periodically check on the pot to avoid it from drying up.
• Dish out into a bowl, garnish with some coriander and serve with hot steamed rice!  Oh…don’t forget to take a picture first! *wink*

I can’t wait to see what my hubby and my boy thinks of my lil experiment! 🙂

The very mention of fast food brings to mind a cheeseburger with all the yummy fixins, topped with a generous helping of fries and maybe a soda, or a milkshake.  In the US, yes, my family and I DO indulge in meals of this sort while enjoying it too, but the kind of fast food that we love and yet, does not fill us with guilt afterward is the Vietnamese kind of fast food. 🙂

This fastfood joint was introduced to me by my dear hubby, and I have been a loyal patron since.  Just like yesterday evening, when I found that I did not have time to come back home to cook dinner after work…I drove straight to this Vietnamese to-go place, and bought TWO Vietnamese subs, one for hubby and one for me.

The bread is like a French baguette, and there is a variety of fillings you could choose from.  Our favorite is the barbecued pork with pate filling.  The sub includes coriander, shredded carrots, onions and a few slices of jalapeno peppers.

Most importantly though, it tastes superbly delicious!  PLUS it is healthy and is a balanced meal too!

We also like to get the Vietnamese spring rolls, served with a special peanut sauce.  Frankly, the Vietnamese spring roll is an acquired taste, and while I did not like it when I first tasted it, I need to have it at every Vietnamese meal I have now.

Having this for dinner is yummy AND cost-effective too.  The subs cost just USD3 each and the plate of 3 spring rolls is USD3.50.  No tax and no tip required 🙂

Oh, by the way, Ethan has not developed a liking for the subs (YET).  So last night, while hubbs and I were chomping down our subs, Ethan had beef stew with steamed rice instead.