Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef)

Marinated in the most delicious umami flavors of soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and of course a touch of coconut sugar for sweetness, this wok seared Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac) is served with the most amazing marinated onions and Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham).

The first time I had Bo Luc Lac, or Vietnamese Shaking Beef as it’s often called, was at a restaurant called Phnom Penh in Vancouver.

It was awesome.

I knew it existed before then, but to be honest, it always looked kind of boring so I never ordered it.

I was wrong. SO wrong.

This Bo luc lac recipe is AWESOME.

Marinated in the most delicious umami flavors of soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and of course a touch of coconut sugar for sweetness, the beef is wok seared to perfection and served with yummy, yummy marinated onions.

I’ve had an obsession with coconut sugar lately. I recently tried it for the first time and I LOVE it.

The flavor is delicious. If you haven’t tried it yet, try it. You’re going to be hooked.

And apparently healthy people like it also.

I just think it tastes good.

When choosing you beef for this bo luc lac recipe, you want to make sure you get a tender cut.

I use Choice sirloin when I make it, but tenderloin would be even better if you’re a baller.

And you’ve got to have the nuoc cham to serve with it. Don’t worry, it’s SUPER easy to make, and will last in the fridge for practically forever.

You can get the recipe for nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) HERE.

And lastly, my favorite part of this dish is actually the marinated onions.

That may sound weird, but don’t judge yet. Try them first.

If you’re not looking forward to running from aisle to aisle searching down ingredients, buy them through the Amazon affiliate links below. I earn a small commission that helps me run this site if you buy through these links.

• Dark soy sauce
• Coconut sugar
• Garlic
• Fish sauce
• Oyster sauce
• Rice vinegar

making the bo luc lac (Vietnamese shaking beef)

You’ll want to start by cutting your beef into 1-2″ pieces. Then mix all your marinade ingredients in a bowl, add the beef, and refrigerate overnight.

About 30 minutes before you plan to start cooking, remove the beef from the fridge to let it come to room temperature.

Combine the vinaigrette ingredients in a bowl and add sliced onions.

Let the onions marinade for 30 minutes while you do you. Take a nap, do your toenails, watch some TV, play with kids. Whatever, you’ve got 30 minutes.

Once you’re done playing around, drain the beef in a colander.

Add 2 tbsp. oil to a wok (or a cast iron skillet if you don’t have a wok) and heat over high heat until smoking.

Add your beef in 2-3 separate batches and stir fry about 3-4 minutes, or until seared on all sides and cooked through.

Stir frying in batches is important. If you add to much to a wok, or your skillet, your meat will steam instead of brown, which is not what we want.

We want that nice crust on the outside.

Once it’s done cooking, remove your beef from the wok and serve on a plate with steamed white rice, sliced cucumber and onion, and garnish with sliced green onions and the marinated onions.

To top it off, drizzle the bo luc lac (shaking beef) with nuoc cham and serve a bowl of the nuoc cham on the side for dipping if desired.

We have been making some awesome Vietnamese recipes around here lately. Check out these other awesome dishes:

Spicy Meatball Banh Mi
Instant Pot Beef Pho
Vietnamese Caramel (Fish Sauce) Pork – Instant Pot
Baked Vietnamese Chicken Wings
Vietnamese Shrimp Tacos
Mini Vietnamese Sponge Cakes with Strawberry Sauce

Did you make this Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef)? Rate it and leave a comment below to let me know how it turned out!

5 from 5 votes

Print

Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef)

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

10 mins

Marinade

1 d

Total Time

20 mins

 

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 515 kcal

Author: Danielle Wolter

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs. beef sirloin or tenderloin, cut in 1-2" pieces
• 1 onion halved and sliced
• 1/2 cucumber sliced
• 1-2 tomatoes sliced
• 3 tbsp. green onion sliced
• Nuoc cham

Marinade:

• 1 tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. coconut sugar
• 6 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 tbsp. oyster sauce

Vinaigrette:

• Juice 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp. rice vinegar unseasoned

Instructions

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl with meat. Stir thoroughly and refrigerate overnight.

Marinaded onions:

1. Mix vinaigrette ingredients together with sliced onions. Let sit for 30 minutes.

Beef:

1. Drain excess marinade from beef.
2. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a wok over high heat. Wok should be smoking.
3. Add 1/2 the beef and stir fry until cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and set aside.
4. Cook the remaining beef the same way.
5. Top with marinated onions and garnish with green onions.
6. Drizzle with 1-2 tbsp. nuoc cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce).

7. Serve with steamed white rice, sliced cucumbers tomatoes and marinated onions.

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