Bò kho — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A warmly spiced Vietnamese beef stew with tender chunks of beef, carrots, and lemongrass simmered in a fragrant tomato and star anise broth, often served with crusty bread for dipping or over rice noodles.

Ingredients

800g beef chuck or shank, cut into 4cm cubes
3 stalks lemongrass, bruised
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tablespoons annatto oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
3 large carrots, cut into chunks
1 onion, quartered
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 liter beef stock or water
Vietnamese baguette or rice noodles for serving
Fresh cilantro, Thai basil, bean sprouts for garnish

Instructions

1 Sear the beef cubes in annatto oil over high heat in batches until deeply browned on all sides, then set aside.
2 In the same pot, saute onion and garlic until softened, then add tomato paste and stir for two minutes until darkened.
3 Return the beef to the pot, add lemongrass, star anise, cinnamon, fish sauce, sugar, and stock, then bring to a boil.
4 Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for one and a half hours until the beef is nearly tender.
5 Add carrots and continue simmering for another thirty minutes until both beef and carrots are completely tender and the sauce has thickened.
6 Serve in deep bowls with torn baguette pieces for dipping or over rice noodles, garnished with cilantro, Thai basil, and bean sprouts.

Did You Know?

Bo kho is one of the few Vietnamese dishes commonly eaten with French bread, a legacy of colonialism. Street vendors serve it in small bowls with a baguette torn into pieces for dipping into the rich, spiced broth.