Aromatic And Spicy Beef Stew Thit Bo Kho Recipes

AROMATIC AND SPICY BEEF STEW (THIT BO KHO)

Steps:

• Cut the beef into 1in cubes and set aside.
• Peel and finely chop the onions and garlic. Peel the shallots, but leave whole.
• Cut the lemon grass into 1in sections, from the bottom to about 1in from the top; cut off and discard the straw like top. Crush each section lightly with a mallet or other heavy object.
• Heat 3 tablespoons of the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat.
• Add the onions, garlic and shallots, and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the lemon grass and continue to fry, stirring, until the onions are lightly browned. Turn off the heat.
• Take the shallots out of the pan and set aside.
• Heat the remaining 4 tablespoons oil in a large, wide, preferably non-stick pan over a high heat. When hot, quickly fry the meat cubes in batches, turning to brown them all over. Remove with a slotted spoon. Brown all the meat in this way.
• Return all the meat to the large pan. Add 4 cups water and the garlic mixture. Coarsely chop the beans in the yellow bean sauce (if not already crushed) and add them too.
• Also put in the chili powder, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns and sugar. Bring to the boil, then cover, lower the heat and simmer gently for 1¼ hours.
• Add the reserved shallots, cover again, and simmer for a further 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid, increase the heat to medium and cook for a further 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened a little and the meat is tender. Skim the fat off the top of the stew before serving.

SPICY BEEF STEW (BO KHO)

Steps:

• Heat half of the oil with annatto seeds and stir quickly until the oil takes on the redish-brown color of the seeds.
• Set aside, strain and remove the seeds.
• Marinate the beef cubes with onion, half the garlic, salt, sugar and half of the annatto seed oil mixture for 45 minutes.
• Heat the remaining annatto seed oil and cook the remaining garlic until soft.
• Add curry powder, beer and marinade and it`s ingredients.
• Braise the beef, adding a little water, lemongrass, star anise and cinnamon.
• Cook at 350 degree in oven for 1 hour then and add carrots.
• Cook for 1 more hour.
• Simmer 5 more minutes.
• Garnish and serve over white rice is how I served it. The juices got absorbed into the rice.

VIETNAMESE BEEF STEW (BO' KHO)

Steps:

• Mix lemongrass, fish sauce, 5-spice powder, ginger, brown sugar and bay leaf, marinate the beef for 30 minutes.
• Over high heat, heat oil in a heavy-bottemed 5-quart pot, sear the beef quickly then remove, reserve lemongrass and bay leaf for later use.
• Reduce heat to medium, cook onions till translucent (5 minutes), then add tomato and cook with lid on for another 12-15 minutes.
• If sauce is too thick, add a bit of water.
• Add back the beef, lemongrass, bay leaf and star anise, cook uncovered for 5 minutes then add water.
• Bring pot to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Add carrots and simmer for another 45 minutes until beef and carrots are tender.
• Remove bay leaf, lemongrass and star anise before serving with cilantro and Thai basil.
• Taste great with steam rice or French bread.

VIETNAMESE CARAMELIZED SALTY PORK ( THIT KHO)

Steps:

• Wash and cut pork belly into 3/4 inch (cubed)pieces.
• In a dry saucepan, melt sugar on high heat until it becomes golden brown but not candied.
• Immediately, add pork belly pieces, onions, pepper, and garlic. Stir to get a golden color on the meat.
• Add fish sauce and water, deglaze, and bring to a boil.
• Reduce to low heat, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes (stirring occasionally) until sauce thickens a little. Add a little more fish sauce and black pepper to taste.
• Serve over white rice.
• Note: Some vietnamese add whole hard boiled eggs (better if you fry the hard boiled eggs in a little oil until golden brown skin) along with the liquids. Adding shrimp is also delicious.

SRI LANKAN STYLE SPICY BEEF STEW

Steps:

• In a small saucepan cook the first 4 spices over medium-low heat for about 6 minutes, stirring until toasted.
• Place the beef cubes in a large bowl.
• Toss the beef with the spices and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper.
• Cover and refrigerate for 6-24 hours.
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
• Add in the onion, ginger, fresh garlic and jalapeno pepper; saute for about 3 minutes or until the onions are tender.
• Remove the onion mixture from the pot and place in a large bowl.
• Add in HALF of the beef cubes (adding in more oil if needed) cook browning on all sides of the meat; remove and place in the bowl with the onion mixture.
• Repeat with remaining beef cubes.
• Return the beef/onion mixture to the pot.
• Add/stir in broth (if using) coconut milk and white wine vinegar; bring to a boil.
• Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 to 2-1/2 hours or until the beef is very tender.
• Season with salt to taste.