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Shaking beef is an authentic Vietnamese recipe with tender beef in savory sauce. This easy shaking beef recipe (bo luc lac) takes 10 mins to make and tastes just like Vietnamese restaurants!
Vietnamese Shaking Beef Bo Luc Lac
What is shaking beef?
Shaking beef recipe is one of my favorite Vietnamese recipes.
It’s an easy beef recipe of tender and juicy beef cubes coated with shaking beef sauce.
This dish is called Bo Luc Lac in Vietnamese language which literally means beef shake.
Bo means beef or cow in Vietnamese language and “luc lac” means shaking and tossing the beef back and forth in a wok during the cooking process.
Ingredients For Bo Luc Lac
This is homemade, authentic and the best recipe, contributed by Ravenous Couple.
The recipe calls for the following ingredients:
- Beef sirloin.
- Garlic.
- Shaking beef sauce made of fish sauce, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil.
- Dipping sauce made of lime juice, kosher salt and black pepper.
- Red onion, watercress and tomatoes as vegetable sides.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make Shaking Beef
To make this Vietnamese beef dish at home, first, you combine garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sweet soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil together.
Marinate the beef with the sauce.
Next, heat a wok and sear and cook the beef until both sides turn brown. Shake and toss the wok while cooking the beef.
How To Serve Shaking Beef
There are many ways to serve this dish.
Some restaurants serve it with sauteed onions, lettuce and rice (white or tomato rice).
Other restaurants may present it like a steak salad served on a bed of watercress and tomatoes, topped with pickled onions.
There is a dipping sauce and it can be a combination of lime juice, salt and ground black pepper or a soy- chili sauce.
Regardless of how you serve bo luc lac, it’s an easy and delicious dish to make for dinner.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can use any cut of steak you like, for example, filet mignon, rib eye or sirloin.
Yes, you sure can.
You can use the Saute Mode of Instant Pot to cook the beef. There is no need to pressure cook as the beef is cut into 1-inch cubes.
This recipe is 387 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Shaking Beef
Serve this dish with steamed rice or noodles. For a healthy Vietnamese meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Shaking Beef
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs. (750g) beef sirloin, cut into 1" (2.5cm) cubes
- 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
Shaking Beef Sauce and Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sweet soy sauce, kecap manis or Maggie Seasoning
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Vinaigrette:
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
Vegetable Sides:
- 2 bunches watercress, long stems trimmed
- 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Shaking Beef Dipping Sauce:
- 1 lime, sliced into halves
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients for Shaking Beef Sauce and Marinade with the beef. Marinate for 30 minutes, preferably 1 to 2 hrs.
- Prepare the Vinaigrette by mixing the rice vinegar with salt and sugar. It should be a balance of sour, salty and sweet.
- Use 3 – 4 tablespoons of the Vinaigrette to pickle the red onions. Set aside and covered in fridge for about 10 minutes.
- Arrange the watercress and tomatoes on a serving platter and set aside.
- Heat a wok, pan or skillet over high heat. Add the cooking oil and when it begins to smoke, add the beef cubes in one even layer and allow to sear for about 2 minutes. Sear the opposite sides for about another 1-2 minute to brown all the sides. Shake and toss the wok while cooking.
- Transfer the beef to the serving platter. Drizzle the remaining 3 – 4 tablespoons of the Vinaigrette over the beef, watercress and tomatoes. Top the beef with the pickled red onions.
- In a small ramekin, make the Shaking Beef Dipping Sauce by squeezing lime juice over salt and black pepper. Serve the Shaking Beef immediately with the dipping sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This looks delicious but the Oyster sauce seems to be missing from the ingredients list in the recipe instructions (but mentioned above). Is this intentional? If not, how much Oyster sauce should be used? Thanks!
Hi John thanks for pointing out. It was a typo, I updated it. :)
Can this be made with chicken breast?
I am sure you can make shaking chicken. ;)
I love shaking beef looks good!
The recipe calls for 1.5 pounds a beef but does not say how many servings this might be. I am guessing about 4. Is that close?
Yes, 4 – 6.
I’ve lately developed an appetite for Vietnamese food and shaking beef tops the list. I love mine served with sauteed onions and pepper sauce. Shaking beef is something everyone should give a try. Thanks for sharing.
I shared this recipe with a friend because it’s one of my favs and I make it quite often. However, his girlfriend doesn’t eat red meat and he asked if you could make it with chicken or seafood. Is there a similar recipe using chicken or shrimp? Not sure the pickled onions would go very well with either …
You can make it with chicken or seafood but it’s not shaking beef. But I think the flavor will still be good!