Creacipes

Bo Kho with Carrots

AI-generated illustration of bò kho beef stew with carrots.
Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Bo Kho with Carrots

Share Print Save
A working reconstruction of Vietnamese-inspired beef stew with soft carrots, lemongrass and warm spices. The carrots are confirmed from my cooking discussion; the quantities and full method here are suggested, not a verified record of the original cook.

Ingredients

  • 600 g beef brisket cut into 4 cm pieces
  • 400 g carrots peeled and cut into chunks
  • 1 onion diced
  • 2 stalks lemongrass bruised
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 20 g ginger minced
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 whole star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce plus more to taste
  • 750 ml low-salt beef stock plus water as needed
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil
  • Coriander leaves to serve
  • Lime wedges to serve

Method

  1. Pat the beef dry. Heat the oil in a heavy pot and brown the beef in batches, then lift it onto a plate.
  2. Lower the heat and soften the onion for about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and bruised lemongrass and stir for 1 minute.
  3. Stir in the tomato paste, coriander and five-spice for 1 minute. Return the beef and its juices, then add star anise, cinnamon, fish sauce and stock. Add enough water to just cover the beef.
  4. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and cook continuously for roughly 2–3 hours, stirring occasionally and topping up with hot water as needed. Go by tenderness rather than the clock: the beef should yield easily to a fork.
  5. When the beef is nearly tender, add the carrot chunks and simmer for another 25–40 minutes, until the carrots are soft and the beef is tender.
  6. Remove the lemongrass, star anise and cinnamon. Adjust fish sauce to taste; simmer uncovered briefly if the broth needs reducing. Serve with coriander and lime, alongside rice or bread if you like.

Private Notes

Click here to add your own private notes.

Tried this recipe?

Let us know how it was!
KEEP COOKING

More recipes to try

LEARN AN INGREDIENT

Ingredient guides for this recipe

Cooking with Lemongrass

Cooked this recipe?

Sign in to post a short comment and photo as proof of your cook. Your contribution will be public on this recipe.

Sign in to add your cook

About the Author

Gary
Creacipes started as a place to keep track of the recipes I actually want to cook again. These days, I rarely follow recipes exactly. Between cooking at home, experimenting with ingredients and running POP UP Dumpling Bar, I’ve learned to cook more by feel and adjust things to suit my own taste. If something turns out well, this is where I write it down.

More Recipes to Try

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating