Beef lovers, this one's for you! Intensely beefy and full of flavour, shaking beef looks premium but it is so easy and quick to put together that you can easily have this on a weeknight. Served with rice, and it's a thoroughly satisfying meal.
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What is Shaking Beef?
Shaking beef is a Vietnamese dish that really highlights the flavour and texture of beef. The term "shaking beef" is translated from its Vietnamese name bò lúc lắc, and it refers to the act of shaking the wok to toss the beef when cooking.
The beef is marinated and seared in the wok, then served with some veggies, pickled onion, and rice. There's also a tart, salty dipping sauce to complete the meal.
Vegetable choice can be flexible. I like tomatoes for the colour and acidity, but red pepper would also work here. I use butter lettuce for some greens, but if you like peppery bitter greens like arugula or watercress, those are fantastic with this also.
What is the best cut of beef to use?
Choosing beef for shaking beef follows the same rule for choosing beef for a seared steak, because essentially these are little cubes of steaks. Tenderness is important, so nothing chewy here, and flavourful is also a bonus.
Here are some beef cut options:
- Tenderloin for maximum tenderness but a milder beef flavour. This is what you want if you're guests include an elderly or someone with TMJ issues. It is very pricey, however, so not for everyone.
- Rib-eye (my personal fave) has a great amount of beefy flavour and is quite tender. Also a little pricey, tho not as much as tenderloin.
- Top sirloin is an inexpensive versatile cut that's widely available. It's not quite as tender as the two above, but still great.
- Tri-tip a great grilling steak that would work well here, but can be hard to find in some locations (certainly is in Western Canada!)
PS. If you're a steak lover, you must check out this super popular recipe for the only steak marinade you need, which also comes with an awesome Thai dipping sauce for steak!
The Optional Dipping Sauce
You'll sometimes see shaking beef served with a dipping sauce that's simply made with coarse salt mixed with black pepper, and a squeeze of lime over it. I don't find that my recipe needs anymore salt, but a squeeze of lime can be nice to cut the grease.
Shaking Beef Recipe Tips
- If you prefer the tomatoes or peppers softer, saute them first, remove from pan, and then toss them back in when the steak is done.
- Remove the beef from the pan promptly after turning off the heat so they don't continue to cook in the hot pan.
- If you like the meat quite rare, cut the beef bigger so it gives you more time to cook the outside without overcooking the inside.
Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!
Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 5 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 250g steak, cut into ¾" cubes (see note)
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ Tbsp soy sauce
- ½ Tbsp fish sauce
- ½ tsp black soy sauce (or sub dark soy sauce and reduce soy sauce amount slightly)
- 1 big clove garlic, grated
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp cooking oil
- A handful cherry tomatoes, pierced with a knife, or julienned bell peppers.
- Pickled red onion or another pickle of your choice, optional (see recipe below)
- Some salad greens for serving, optional
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Instructions
To make pickled onion: Thinly slice a red onion so you have about 1 cup loosely packed, place into a thick glass jar with a lid. In a small pot, combine ½ cup vinegar (you can use white or rice vinegar), 2 teaspoon sugar and ¼ teaspoon salt (you can add more sugar if you like a sweet pickle). Bring to a boil, then pour the hot vinegar over the onion until it is completely submerged (you may need to push the onion down a bit). Close the lid and let it sit at room temp until cool. Store in the fridge.
For the Shaking Beef:
In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, black pepper, and grated garlic. Toss to mix well and marinade for about 30 minutes, stirring once or twice in between.
Once the beef is done marinating, add a little cooking oil and toss to coat.
Heat a wok or a large skillet over medium high heat until very hot, add just a little bit of oil, then place the beef cubes down in one layer on the wok/pan so that they are not touching each other. Let sear without moving the beef until the bottom side has browned well (with a hot pan it should only take 30 seconds to 1 minute), once it is browned, shake the pan to release the beef cubes and toss them so that the beef flips to the other side. If there are unflipped pieces, you can go in and individually flip them with tongs.
Add the tomatoes and scatter them around them pan and let sear for another 20 seconds or so. Shake the pan again to get the tomatoes mixed with the beef. Keep cooking the beef until desired doneness. If you like the beef still pink, you can remove the beef within a minute of adding the tomatoes, otherwise keep cooking and occasionally tossing until done to your liking. Remove from the pan immediately.
Notes
Steak options: Use whatever cut of beef you would want as a big piece of steak. Something tender, preferably. I'm using ribeye, but tenderloin (super tender, more expensive) or striploin (less tender, less expensive) are also good choices.
John says
I tried this recipe last night but didn't have a large enough piece of beef so I plumped up the recipe by adding roasted mushrooms about halfway through cooking. Everyone loved the food. Thanks so much for this, and for all your recipes and advice on cooking and food. Two are three times a week, I find myself asking, "What would Pailin do?"
Jo says
Thank you for this recipe!! I’ve made it twice and I’m not sure my husband will let me cook ribeye any other way now. The second time making it I did a 20 minute marinade with eyeballed proportions of: grated garlic, oyster sauce, fish sauce, sweet soy sauce (Lee Kim Kee), and black pepper. Still turned out really well! This recipe provides a strong, forgiving foundation and helpful guidance to the technique for searing & shaking the beef.
Sofia says
I have tried a few shaking beef recipes but this one comes out on top! Super simple and very tasty with the sauce! I haven’t found another recipe that gets the beef so flavorful especially in such a short amount of time. I have recommended this recipe to my family and I will definitely be making it again.
Lysa says
This dish is so simple and just delicious! Love it when coloured cherry tomatoes are in season which makes the dish look even more special. We use lettuce leaves for a low carb option to wrap the pieces of meat in. And the pickled onion is a must. I also serve it with fried crispy oyster mushrooms with garlic and thyme. I've made this numerous times and it's so delicious I'm having it again tonight! 🙂
Thanks so much for sharing your recipes and videos Pailin. Of course, I have your book too. I'm a big fan of your fabulous food.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Thank you so much for the review and for buying the book! So glad you're enjoying the recipes 🙂
Kristina Lam says
Hi! Is it okay to use this with chicken?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
I don't see why not, but should be dark meat!
Jeffrey Chang says
Hi.
I tried this recipe today and it did not come out right. Instead of sizzling, it was more like stir fry because too much water came out while cooking the beef. I followed the recipe accurately. Any ideas why so much water came out? I am wondering if beef was not entirely thawed before preparing? Thank you.
Pailin Chongchitnant says
So sorry to hear! Without having been there myself I can only speculate...and the beef being partially thawed could explain it. As you know, when you thaw meat, there is a lot of liquid that comes out as it thaws. If it's thawing while in the wok, then all that liquid will come out during cooking as well.
Stephen Chan says
Easy yet delicious. In Hongkong when you order this in Vietnamese restaurants it’s often served with a reddish rice instead of plain jasmine rice. I then found out from some local recipes that is basically American fried rice, which Pai has a recipe for, without the mixed veggie dices. I’m not sure if that’s the authenic way or just the Hongkong style of serving it, but anyway I’ve tried and it’s delicious.
Lisa No says
Hi Pailin, I am going to attempt this recipe for the first time and I wanted to know which brand of fish sauce, oyster sauce and soy sauce did you use? I see that you have different ones listed in the links and I don’t want the favors to be off. Thank you for your response!
U'ilani Cooper says
This one of my favorite dishes. Red bell peppers along with cherry tomatoes are pleasing to the eye before you even taste it. So easy yet so rewarding. We have no Asian restaurants near where we live so finding Hot Thai Kitchen and Pai's kitchen was like finding a "vaccine" and y'all know how important that is. Good On You Pailin!!!