Bò nhúng giấm is a table-top dish: a pot of vinegar broth simmers in the middle, everyone dips thin slices of beef into it until cooked, and eats them with rice paper, greens and fruit. The broth is quite sour, and the dish is more delicious eaten with fermented anchovy paste. In my family it’s my mother who makes it, and it’s a meal that gets everyone around the table together. Plan ahead: the beef marinates for half an hour. Ingredients For the beef 300 g tender beef Spices 6 tablespoons cooking oil For the vinegar broth 1 cup vinegar ½ cup coconut milk 2 tomatoes 50 g roasted peanuts 100 g lemongrass, outer layers peeled off Garlic, minced Salt, sugar, MSG For the fermented anchovy paste dipping sauce 50 g fermented anchovy paste 50 g pickles ¼ pineapple 1 lemon Vinegar, sugar, MSG, peppers, minced garlic To serve 1 onion 20 sheets of rice paper Lettuce and other vegetables Young banana and star fruit, sliced Chilli How to make bò nhúng giấm 1. Prepare the beef and everything else Slice the beef thinly and marinate it with spices and 3 tablespoons of oil for half an hour so the flavours soak in. While it marinates, get the rest ready: Seed the tomatoes and chop them finely. Crush the peanuts. Cut each sheet of rice paper into 4. Slice the pickles thinly. Mince the lemongrass finely and leave it to soak in vinegar and sugar. 2. Make the dipping sauce Mix the fermented anchovy paste with vinegar, lemon juice, sugar, MSG, the sliced pickles, the pineapple, peppers and minced garlic. Season it to your taste. 3. Make the vinegar broth Fry minced garlic until fragrant. Add the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon of the chopped lemongrass and the peanuts, and stir well. Add the vinegar and coconut milk, the tomato mixture, salt, sugar, MSG and 3 tablespoons of the fried minced garlic oil, to your taste. 4. Set the table Arrange the beef on a plate with the onion and lemongrass around it. Add tomatoes and chilli to make the plate look good. Put the vegetables, lettuce, sliced young banana, star fruit, rice paper and fermented anchovy paste on the table. 5. Dip and eat Bring the vinegar broth to the boil on the table. Dip the beef into the pot, wait until it’s cooked, then eat it with the rice paper, greens, fruit and dipping sauce. Share:
