Vietnamese is, hands-down, one of my favorite cuisines. I love how most dishes combine salty, sweet, sour, and umami. Plus, my favorite items have contrasting temperatures and textures which makes it feel like I’m hosting a party in my mouth.
Unfortunately, I rarely eat Vietnamese food nowadays because there’s sugar in most dishes, it’s grain-heavy (e.g. pho, banh mi, bun, etc.), and almost all fish sauces contain sugar and/or hydrolyzed wheat protein. However, all that’s gonna change now that I’ve gotten my hands on a bottle of Red Boat Fish Sauce.
For the past week, I’ve been poring over my neglected copy of Andrea Nguyen’s Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, looking for yummy recipes to Paleo-ize. Andrea’s book is phenomenal as are her blogs –- she’s an expert in all matters pertaining to Vietnamese cuisine and Asian dumplings. The first recipe I tackled was Bò Kho (beef stewed with tomato, star anise, and lemongrass) and, boy, was it yummy!
My recipe deviates from Andrea’s in some key ways: I made a number of key ingredient substitutions, and placed the stew in the oven to finish braising (as opposed to cooking it on the stovetop). I love braising stews in the oven ‘cause the temperature stays constant. You don’t have to babysit them!
Time to make Bo Kho!
Serves 6-8
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds grass fed beef brisket, trimmed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
- 1 large stalk lemongrass, trimmed of loose leaves, cut into 3-inch lengths, and bruised with a heavy object (e.g. ramekin, broad side of kitchen knife, you get the idea)
- 3 tablespoons Red Boat Fish Sauce
- 1½ teaspoons Madras curry powder
- 2½ tablespoons peeled and microplaned fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons applesauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cups canned diced tomatoes, drained and crushed by hand
- 2 whole star anise
- 3 cups water
- 1 pound carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Equipment:
- All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.
Method:
I preheated the oven to 300°F and gathered and prepped my ingredients.
I tossed the beef, lemongrass, fish sauce, curry powder, ginger, applesauce, and bay leaf into a large bowl…
…and mixed everything well.
I let the meat marinate for about 30 minutes.
I heated the ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and seared the beef in batches until they were nice and browned all over. (Yes, I will try this soon with the no-sear method to see how it turns out).
I placed the seared beef on a new plate…
…and reserved the lemon grass and bay leaf from the marinade.
I lowered the heat to medium-low and tossed in the onions and cooked them until they were softened.
Then, I tossed in the tomatoes and salt to taste and stirred to combine. I put on the lid and simmered the sauce for 12-14 minutes until a paste formed.
Once the paste formed, I added in the beef, lemongrass, bay leaf, and star anise.
I raised the heat to medium and stirred everything on and off for 5 minutes.
Next, I added the water and the carrots to the pot, raised the heat to high, and brought the stew up to a boil.
I covered the Dutch oven with the lid and placed it in the oven for about 2½ hours or until the brisket was really tender.
At this point, I defatted the stew and transferred it to a storage container to chill in the fridge for a couple days.
When I reheated the stew, I dumped it in a pot and brought it back up to a simmer. I tasted for seasoning and then plated the stew after removing the lemon grass, bay leaf, and star anise.
I topped the stew with some freshly chopped cilantro.
Voila!
Man, this was a delicious stew – all thanks to Red Boat fish sauce and Andrea Nguyen!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Bo Kho
Ingredients
- 2½ pounds grass fed beef brisket trimmed and cut into 1½-inch chunks
- 1 large lemongrass stalk
- 3 tablespoons Red Boat fish sauce
- 1½ teaspoons Madras curry powder
- 2½ tablespoons peeled and microplaned fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons applesauce
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 3 tablespoons ghee
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 2 cups canned diced tomatoes drained and crushed by hand
- 2 whole star anise
- 3 cups water
- 1 pound carrots peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
- Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300°F. Time to gather and prep your ingredients for the marinade!
- Trim the fresh lemongrass stalk and cut into 3-inch lengths. Bruise the lemongrass with a heavy object (e.g. ramekin, broad side of kitchen knife, you get the idea).
- Toss the beef, lemongrass, fish sauce, curry powder, micro-planed ginger, applesauce, and bay leaf into a large bowl and mix everything well.
- Let the meat marinate for 30 minutes.
- When you're ready to cook your meat, heat the ghee in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear the beef in batches until they're nice and browned all over.
- Place the seared beef and the reserved lemongrass and bay leaf on a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium-low and toss in the onions and cook until they are softened.
- Toss in the tomatoes, salt to taste, and stir to combine. Put the lid on and simmer the sauce for 12-14 minutes until a paste is formed.
- Once the paste is formed, add in the beef, the reserved lemongrass and bay leaf, and the star anise.
- Raise the heat to medium and stir everything on and off for 5 minutes.
- Add the 3 cups of water and the carrots to the pot. Raise the heat to high and bring the stew to a boil.
- Cover the Dutch oven with the lid and place it in the oven for about 2½ hours or until the brisket is very tender.
- Once the meat is done cooking, defat the stew and place in a storage container in the fridge. When you're ready to eat, reheat the stew on stove and remove the lemongrass, bay leaf, and star anise. Top with freshly chopped cilantro and serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Do I need another word for delicious? Easy? I keep a few new ingredients always in my house so I’m ready for Michelle’s recipes. For this one I’m at the store and I need Madras Curry powder. I can’t find it. The store people can’t find it. I sent a tweet to Michelle with fingers crossed hoping she had time to answer. She answered before I left the store. I found the Madras Curry powder and we ate well.
Have A Good Day
Is there a sub for lemongrass?
This recipe is Amazeballs and has become a fam fav over the years. Thanks so much for sharing it. Despite having an instant pressure cooker, I love making it in a slow cooker when I have the time. I withhold the broth and skip searing the meat. Everything becomes even more savory, tender goodness.
Oh my goodness! Only five positive votes. Get this going and be the biggest kitchen hero ever! I up the spice quotient for bolder flavor. You do you. Any level will be delightful on the palate.