vietnamese beef stew

By bjlazyl

Ingredients

• Serves 4
• 900 g (2lb) beef shin, cut into cubes
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 lemongrass stalks, finely chopped
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar (or dark brown sugar)
• ______
• 4 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 4 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 625 ml | 2 1/2 cups hot beef stock
• 450 g | 1lb butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
• Basil leaves, chopped to garnish

Details

Servings 4
Adapted from supergoldenbakes.com

Preparation

Step 1

. It is such an amazingly fragrant and comforting dish that, like most stews, tastes even better the day after its made. You can use inexpensive cuts of meat (braising steak, or shin) as the long and slow cooking guarantees they will be melt-in-the-mouth tender by time you tuck in. I like to add butternut squash to make this stew stretch further and occasionally throw in sweet potatoes as well. Just add these vegetables towards the end as they will disintegrate too much if added early on. Serve in the casserole (it will keep the food warm plus it looks so good on the table) with plenty of crusty bread - a French baguette preferably - and some red wine.

Combine the beef, flour, spice, pepper, lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl and mix well. Leave to marinate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 160C (325F) and have all your vegetables prepared.

Put the oil in the casserole and heat over medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, lower the temperature to medium-low and brown the beef cubes.

Add the shallots and chillies and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, carrots, cinnamon stick, star anise, kaffir lime leaves and stock and bring slowly to a rolling simmer.

Cover the casserole and transfer to the oven. Cook for an hour then add the butternut squash (be careful the pot will be very hot) and give the stew a stir.

Add some chopped basil leaves, check the seasoning and serve with crusty bread.

Notes: You can make this in any lidded casserole (Dutch oven) and it can be left to slowly simmer on the stove for 2 hours.

have been making their iconic cast iron pots since 1925, and much of the finishing on each pot is done by hand making each one unique. They come with a lifetime warranty and can take the heat of the oven but also used on pretty much any kind of stovetop. Such quality (sadly) doesn't come cheap but bear in mind that with a little care you could be passing your pots down the generations.

Oooh Lucy that looks stunning. Anything slow and simmering like this always makes me think of long winter walks and lazy Sunday's. Gorgeous recipe x

This stew looks amazing..... I have to make it! I so love a good one-pot wonder too, especially when the weather starts to cool. Great mix of ingredients..... the butternut is a perfect addition.

NO! This looks amazing. I am going to make it asap.

I made this tonight and it was SO GOOD!! Definitely will be making again. We used beef short ribs and it was delicious. The aroma of the dish while it simmered in the oven – wow. Incredible. Thanks for such a great recipe!!

I adapted this as a slow cooker recipe! I marinated and browned the meat as instructed, sauteed shallots / peppers, then added it all to the slow cooker with all other ingredients except butternut squash. I slow cooked on low for 9.5 hrs, then steamed butternut squash until fork tender and added it to the stew at the end. Fantastic!

Lucy if I want to cook this on the stove, do I cook the meat for awhile first and then add the squash? (I'm assuming yes, but wanted to be sure) Can't wait to make this later in the week! :)

Hi Staci – yes, due to the long cooking time it is best to add the squash towards the end. It needs about 30 minutes cooking, anything beyond that and it starts to melt down into the stew (which isn't so bad). Hope you like the recipe : )

RAVE reviews from my family! My youngest daughter wants to me to make this for her birthday dinner (in August!) lol thanks for the fantastic recipe!! :)

okay, this stew is called bo kho, and it usually only has beef, and carrots as big stuff chunky stuff in it, and i would suggest adding some fish sauce to the recipe for it to be truly vietnamese and not just a really good beef stew

I made this for my family, my 3 1/2 year old daughter had 3 serves, my 6 year old son has begged me to make it again, and my hubby loved it too. So easy and tasty, I have shared the recipe with all my friends.

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