Shaking Beef
Shaking beef, or bò lúc lac, is a Vietnamese dish of stir-fried cubes of marinated beef and sliced onions served over a bed of watercress and accompanied by a dipping sauce of lime juice and pepper. The dish gets its name from the vigorous shaking and stirring required to achieve an even and thorough sear. The beef—well browned but still pink on the inside—is coated in a deeply savory glaze that also flavors and lightly wilts the watercress below it.
It’s a study in contrasts: the warmth of the beef against the cool crunch of the watercress, its savory meatiness against the peppery bite of the cress and the tartness of the dipping sauce, not to mention the garlicky, tomato-rich “red rice” that is a common accompaniment.
The cut of beef varies from recipe to recipe. San Francisco’s acclaimed Vietnamese eatery The Slanted Door started the trend of using filet mignon. But in Vietnamese households, the cut is likely to be chewier and less expensive.
