Traditional Bo Kho Recipe (Vietnamese Beef Stew)
Bo Kho or Vietnamese Beef Stew is one of the most comforting dishes out there. It is served during celebrations and at everyday meals. This traditional take on bo kho does take some time to make and has a lot of ingredients, but the results are well worth it in the end.
Chinese New Year was a big day in my family, more so than Christmas or Thanksgiving. Every year, my family and I would gather with friends and family, eat tons of food, and I would receive some lucky money in red envelopes. To be honest, getting money was my favorite part. I would say “gung hay fat choy” which means “Happy New Year” in Chinese and adults would give me red envelopes. It was a fun little game I loved to play. Other than the red envelopes, the food is what I remembered the most from these gatherings. Since my family is from a Chinese Vietnamese background, we always had a mixture of Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. Some common dishes we would have are banh beo, egg rolls, fried rice, and this dish bo kho or Vietnamese beef stew.
How my mom taught me to make Bo Kho
Kho or braised dishes like ca kho to, ca hoi kho, thit kho, and ga kho have always been a big part of my life. Bo Kho aka braised beef in particular is a special dish we had both for special occasions and everyday. Every family has their own recipe for this dish. When I first thought about making this for myself, I went to my mom to ask her for her recipe. Her recipe involved using a beef stew mix for the base and adding beef, veggies, red wine, and tomato sauce. When she told me that, it seemed a little too simple and just not right. I felt like it was deja vu to my pho recipe where she skipped a few steps. So I did some research online, combined that with what she said, and came up with my own bo kho recipe.
How does Bo Kho get its red color?
Traditionally, this dish gets its red color from tomato paste, annatto oil, and sometimes paprika. I personally don’t care to make it super red, so I just add tomato paste to this dish for both tartness and color. It’s one less ingredient to get, and it doesn’t affect how good this soup tastes. If you want a soup that is more red in color, add more tomato paste to the soup. It improves the flavor and color.
Notes about key ingredients!
- Beef (beef shank and beef chuck) – I like to use this combination because they have a good amount of fat which adds to the richness in the broth. In the past, I’ve made it with other cuts of beef and found the broth is much more flavorful with these 2 cuts of meat. If I want to make it a little fancy, I add oxtail.
- Lemongrass – Lemongrass is what separates this beef stew from other beef stew recipes. It adds a nice grassy lime flavor to the broth. Growing up, my mom did make it sometimes without lemongrass, but the stew is not as good without it. The tart flavors of the lemongrass balance out the umami flavors of the other ingredients and adds a brightness to the broth. Additionally, I personally don’t consider it Vietnamese beef stew without lemongrass.
- Potatoes (optional) – I did not include potatoes in this recipe, but you can add them if you want! This is an optional ingredient I choose to add sometimes. I recommend yukon gold potatoes because they hold their shape well in soup.
Scoop away impurities for a clear broth
The biggest tip I can give for a good broth is to scoop away impurities. Impurities are the nasty bits of the meat the float to the top when you boil it. They appear like foamy bubbles at the top of the soup. I take a ladle and skim them off the surface. See video for reference!
Make bo kho a day ahead of time
Soups need time to soak up all that good flavor, so they are usually better the next day. For the best results, make the soup a day ahead of time and let the flavors combine over night.
What can you serve bo kho with?
I usually like to enjoy bo kho with a Vietnamese baguette, but you can eat it with rice noodles or rice. The last time I made this I served it with rice.
Did you make this dish?
If you made this dish, I would love to see!
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Traditional Bo Kho Recipe (Vietnamese Beef Stew)
Ingredients
Beef Marinade
- 1 lb beef shank, cubed, see note 1
- 1 lb beef chuck, cubed, see note 1
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 piece ginger, 2-3 inches, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp five spice powder
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Beef Stew
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 piece ginger, 2-3 inches, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 large carrots
- 1 daikon, cut into chunks
- 2 star anise
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup beef broth, see note 2
- 4 cups water, see note 3
Instructions
- Marinate the beef chuck and beef shank for 30 minutes with 2 cloves of garlic, 1 2-inch piece of ginger (sliced thinly), fish sauce, five spice, cinnamon, and vegetable oil. Make sure to include the bone from the beef shank in the marinade. Set aside.
- In a large soup pot, saute onions, the rest of the ginger, and the rest of the garlic for 1 minute. Next, add the marinated beef and cook for 2-3 minutes until all sides are seared. Deglaze the pot with red wine and cook until the alcohol is burned out. You shouldn't be able to smell the alcohol anymore once it has burned out.
- Add in the lemongrass, carrots, daikon, bay leaf, salt, tomato paste, beef broth, and water. Bring the soup to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 1-1.5 hours until beef is tender. Check on the soup every half hour and scoop away any impurities that you see.
- After the broth has finished simmering, taste the soup for seasoning. If it tastes bland, add more salt or fish sauce until the soup tastes just right.
- Ladle soup into a bowl. Top with mint and lime juice to finish it off. Eat with bread, rice, or rice noodles.
Notes
- Use beef with a good amount of fat. I use a combination of beef shank and beef chuck because of the fat content. That’s how you get a rich broth. I also like to use beef shank with the bone in because bones make for the best broths.
- Beef broth can be substituted with 1 tablespoon of beef bouillon or chicken broth.
- Water can be substituted with more beef broth, chicken broth, or coconut water.
- Mint can be substituted with Thai basil.
- Lime can be substituted with lemon.
- Storage Instructions – Bo Kho can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. I usually like to put bo kho into freezer safe bags when storing in the freezer.
Great recipe!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Too much spice. The finish product doesn’t taste like vietnamese beef stew.
Thanks for making the recipe and for your feedback!
Random but, mint with bo kho is not traditional and it’s never rated like that. It’s with Thai basil.
Hi. Thanks for the feedback. I know it’s not traditional but here in the US we use what we have like for fried spring rolls we transitioned from using rice paper to using egg roll wrappers. Beef Pho could be considered non traditional since it didn’t exist until the French colonized Vietnam in the 1800s and it was their introduction of beef that led to beef pho. Traditions change as we adapt to our surroundings.
We had a half a diakon radish left from making picels. Used smaller quantaties of oil and used blade beef, 3 star anise, lemon instead of lime made two large bowls simmered for an hour with the lid on. We ate it after cooking realy good. Next time we will use chuck and a shank but tweek it with half a lime and less tomato paste. My wife Tram’s uncle serves bo kho with annato oil floating on top. Thanks
Hi Mike. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I made this recipe. It was a very delicious soup. The only thing is that the amount of oil called for is excessive. Even though the taste was wonderful, it was extremely oily. I will be making it again without vegetable oil.
Thank you for trying the recipe!
If using coconut water, beware of the sugar in it.