Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)

Vietnamese steak salad served on a bed of greens and tomatoes, topped with pickled onions and a lime dipping sauce. This widely popular Asian dish combines many taste sensations and creates a harmony of flavors with every bite. The “shaking” in the name refers to the tossing of the beef back and forth in the wok after it’s quickly seared.

You can serve this as a salad for a low carb meal or make some rice on the side. This is traditionally served over a bed of watercress which I couldn't find, so I used an arugula blend instead. Thick soy sauce is traditionally used here, but you can use low sodium soy sauce instead if this is not available to you.

This was a recent recipe which I wanted to make as authentic as possible and upon doing some research came I came across and this recipe from Ravenous Couple who was guest posting on Rasa Malaysia. I had no doubt this dish would be a hit with my family and I hope you all like it too. I've made some adjustments to the recipe to lighten it a little but I tried to stick as close as possible to the original.

Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 6 • Serving Size: 3 oz beef + lettuce, onions, tomato
Sodium 1451 mg  • Old Points: 6 pt • Points+: 7 pt
Calories: 268.9 • Fat: 10.1 g • Protein: 27.3 g • Carb: 16.6 g • Fiber: 0.9 g • Sugar: 12 g


Marinade:

• 1 1/2 lbs beef top sirloin, fat trimmed and cut into 1″ cubes
• 5 cloves crushed garlic
• 1 tbsp agave or sugar
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp thick soy sauce (or use low sodium soy sauce)

Vinaigrette

• 1/2 cup rice vinegar
• 1 1/2 tbs sugar (or agave)
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Dipping Sauce

• juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh cracked pepper

Salad:

• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 4 cups watercress leaves or mixed baby greens
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced

• 1 tbsp canola oil, divided

Marinate steak at least 1 hour before cooking, or overnight for best results. Combine garlic, oyster sauce, agave or sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and sesame oil with the beef.

For the vinaigrette combine rice vinegar with salt and sugar. It should be a balance of sour, salty and sweet.

Thinly slice the red onion and use about 1/4 cup of the vinaigrette to pickle and set aside covered in fridge for about 10 minutes. Prepare bed of greens and tomatoes in a serving platter and set aside.

Make dipping sauce by squeezing lime juice over salt and pepper in a small ramekin.

Heat a large wok or pan over high heat. When very hot add 1/2 tbsp oil and when it begins to smoke, add an even layer of beef (half) and allow to sear for about 2 minutes, before “shaking” to sear the opposite sides for about another 1-2 minute more to brown all the sides.  Repeat this with the second batch of meat using the remainder of the oil.

Transfer beef to bed of watercress and tomatoes. Drizzle remainder of the vinaigrette over the beef and greens and top with pickled red onions. Serve with lime dipping sauce.