We're winding down the weekend getting ready for a new work week. Most weekends, the hubby and I prep for the busy week ahead by making a large meal on Sunday to carry us through the first part of the week. Mondays are easier knowing that we don't have to cook a meal after a long day of work. The cold of winter is upon us and it's time for some serious comfort food. On the menu this week is a hearty Vietnamese-style beef stew. The spices used in Bò Kho typically include star anise, cinnamon, cloves and ginger, among other spices. The warm seasonings add a unique twist to an otherwise standard American-style beef stew. A quick search online found many variations on Bò Kho. I honestly haven't tried any other variations, as this beef stew (my Mother-in-law's famous recipe) was love at first taste. Today, I modified it a tad, since I was running low on garlic. This is my modified recipe, but I'm listing the modifications as "optional." If you can't find the Bò Kho bouillon cubes shown below, you could always use beef bouillon and experiment with adding the extra spices found in other Bò Kho recipes online.
Bò Kho
Ingredients:
- 2 lb. Boneless Beef Chuck Roast or Stew Meat
- 2 cubes Bò Kho Cube Bouillon (see photo below- found at our local Asian market)
- 1 medium onion - roughly sliced - 1/4 inch strips
- 1 medium potato - diced into 1-inch cubes
- 1 medium sweet potato - diced into 1-inch cubes
- 1 carrot - diced into 1-inch pieces
- 1 small can (6 oz.) tomato paste (you'll only use about half the can - you can freeze the rest)
- Dried orange peel - chopped
- 1 Tbsp. (a couple of cloves) chopped garlic
- 3 tsp. garlic powder (This is optional - I was short on garlic, so I used garlic powder to supplement; a little extra garlic never hurt anyone!)
- 3 tsp. onion powder (This is optional - Onion powder is NOT in my mother-in-law's recipe, but I can't leave recipes alone without modifying them a bit).
- 2 tsp. sugar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1-2 Tbsp. Olive Oil for cooking (optional: hubby insisted that I use some leftover bacon grease and I helped it along with 1 Tbsp. butter. New Year's resolution shot down!)
Instructions:
- Dissolve 1 bouillon cube in approx. 2 Tbsp. boiling water. You will have to grind it up a bit with a fork to get it to dissolve.
- Remove fat/tendons from beef and cut into cubes (or you could buy the meat already cubed).
- Put the meat in a bowl; add sugar and salt; add chopped garlic, garlic powder, onion powder and dried orange peel. Add dissolved bouillon. Mix thoroughly and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Put olive oil in pan. Add meat to the pot and brown it.
- Add 1/2 can (3 oz.) tomato paste to the pot.
- Get 2nd bouillon cube and add 1/2 cup boiling water to dissolve. Add this to the stew pot. Cook for 15 minutes.
- Slice onion; chop potatoes and carrots into similarly-sized pieces. Add to pot.
- Put 2 Tbsp. tomato paste in a separate bowl and add that to 1 cup boiling water. Stir to mix and add this to the pot of stew.
- Cook on med-to-low heat on stovetop for 1-2 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender. If you need more liquid, add more water or if there is too much liquid, I sometimes add a bit of flour to thicken the mixture.
- Serve with toasted french bread.
