Lẩu Bò: Vietnamese Beef Hotpot and Bò Nhúng Dấm

Lẩu bò, beef hotpot, is one of Vietnam’s popular street foods and a common family meal. Ask most Vietnamese people what the best meal for the whole family is in winter and the answer will be beef hotpot.

Why it’s so popular

Beef hotpot is reasonably priced and is seen as a nourishing, healthy meal. A big part of the appeal is the beef itself, which is carefully sliced.

It has been part of Vietnamese eating for a long time. If you travel around the streets of Vietnam, you’ll find plenty of restaurants serving it.

There are two main ways to eat it.

1. Beef dipped in vinegar (bò nhúng dấm)

This is the way to go if you like your beef soft. Dip a slice of beef lightly into a pot of hot vinegar for 10–20 seconds, depending on how you like it, and eat it straight away.

Eat it with herbs or shiso leaves. It’s also very good with hot rice, which goes well with the flavour of the beef and vinegar.

2. Beef hotpot (lẩu bò)

The hotpot itself is the main reason the dish became such a popular street food. Vietnamese people love hotpot, and people in Ho Chi Minh City especially seem to eat it every day, rain or shine. When they choose a hotpot, beef is the usual pick.

Cooked in the hotpot, the beef comes out firmer than the vinegar-dipped version.

If you’re travelling in Vietnam, beef hotpot is worth trying at least once.