Description
A popular Vietnamese beef dish featuring seared cubed steak sautéed with garlic, onion, butter, and a soy marinade. Served on a bed of lettuce, watercress, and tomatoes, it comes with a zesty lime-salt-and-pepper dipping sauce for extra flavor.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Beef Marinade
- 2 lbs beef sirloin (trim off excess fat and cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves (mince)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 small onion (either red, white or yellow, slice into thin wedges)
- 1 garlic clove (mince)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
Lime Dipping Sauce (Optional)
- 4 teaspoons lime juice (about half a lemon/lime)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salad
- Lettuce
- Watercress
- Tomatoes
- Cucumbers
Instructions
- Marinate beef: In a large bowl, marinate beef with sugar, salt, black pepper, and minced garlic for at least 10 minutes.
- Make the sauce: In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, fish sauce, honey, rice vinegar, and sugar. Add sugar a little at a time to taste. Leave out the aromatics (onions and garlic) at this point.
- Pan fry the beef: In a large skillet or wok, heat up vegetable oil on high. Add the beef cubes and sear on all sides by shaking the beef until medium rare. It’s highly recommended to do this in batches to get a nice sear without overcooking. No more than 3 minutes total. Transfer beef to a plate and set aside.
- Prepare the sauce and add beef: To the now empty skillet, add butter. Once melted, add onions and garlic. Sauté until fragrant (about 1-2 minutes). Add sauce mixture and seared beef cubes. Toss until nicely coated.
- Serve: Transfer beef and sauce onto a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, and/or cucumbers. Serve shaking beef with its sister dish, red fried rice, and optional dipping sauce by mixing together lime juice, salt, and pepper.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: side dish, appetizer, entree
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese