Bo Luc Lac Shaking Beef Recipe

I had a craving for the super simple yet flavor-packed Bo Luc Lac, or Shaking Beef. It’s also one of my favorite dishes to say. I know I’ve made it several times but apparently never blogged the recipe. My sister in law makes a really great version of this simple main dish adding mushroom sauce in addition to the typical oyster sauce. Traditionally, the seared beef cubes are served atop crisp, raw watercress and tomato slices. I had arugula and cherry tomatoes left over from and Independence Day fresh corn salad and decided to use those. The arugula has the same peppery bite as watercress, and it easier to eat!  I’ve seen many recipes call for tossing the greens in a vinaigrette, but I don’t think it’s necessary with the muoi tieu chanh (lime, salt, and pepper dipping sauce).

Ideally, you want to marinade the beef overnight to achieve maximum flavor, but 30-60 minutes will do in a pinch. You want tender beef – steer clear of the time saving beef cubes that are usually stew meat. You’ll tire of chewing before getting full.

Prepare in the order below and serve with rice and one or two other small dishes to round out the meal. Now if this isn’t a picture of summer, I don’t know what is!

Drinking Food – Surf and Turf Extravaganza

This has been quite the week. First crawfish, then came the lobsters. What crustacean comes next?  Apparently Claude, the Tasmanian Monster Crab. Seriously, folks.

Last night we met some friends at Eden Center, once again, club slash restaurant slash karaoke bar slash bar V3 Lounge. Known as the “Gem of Virginia” according to one web search. Interesting. They don’t seem to separate their many identities, regardless the time of day or day of week. The appropriate invitation to dinner may be: Yo shawty, let’s go to da club and our grub on. Thursday night is all of the above, but they also have $10 lobsters.

V3 is a great spot for đồ ăn nhậu, or (loosely translated) drinking food or literally (according to Google Translate) it is “drink, food“. These are dishes that may not make a great meal all at once, but are served while drinking over a long period of time that you pick at with a group of friends. Think football games, warm days on the deck and long nights under the stars. These are some of my favorite foods.

These aren’t sad, wimpy Lobsterfest lobsters. They’re pretty hefty week after week. Meet our first course buddies: these bad boys were grilled and topped with Scallion Oil, or Mỡ Hành.

We also started with these amazing grilled clams, topped with the same Scallion Oil, fried scallions and peanuts.