Vietnamese 5 Spice Beef Stew (Hủ Tiếu Bò Kho)

I’m always trying to find shortcuts for the Vietnamese recipes I love. If you’ve spent some time cooking Vietnamese soups before, you know there are so many little steps and it adds up to hours in the kitchen. Bò Kho in Vietnamese literally means, “Beef Stew” and Hủ Tiếu is the style of noodles. They are the exact same noodles in Pad Thai. Bò Kho is filled with spices like cinnamon and ginger that will warm you up and make your house smells awesome! 

To feed 2

• 1 pound of beef stew meat/beef shank cut into large chunks
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 stalk of lemongrass, chopped up into 3 inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons of 5 spice powder
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 thumb of ginger, cut into thin slices
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups of beef broth
• 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of cooked rice noodles (same as Pad Thai noodles)
• ¼ cup of vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon of sugar

Garnish

• bean sprouts
• lime wedges
• Sriracha
• Thai basil leaves
• chopped green onions

In a large bowl, marinate beef in 5 spice seasoning, ginger, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, cover and marinate overnight.

In a large stew pot over medium high heat, heat oil and add onions, carrots, and lemon grass. Add marinated beef, broth, tomato paste, 1 tablespoon sugar and water. Cover, and simmer for 3 hours on medium low heat. Serve over rice noodles and add garnish to taste.