Bun bo Nam Bo is quick, and the beef is where it goes wrong. The meat has to be tender, the noodles dry, and the sweet and sour fish sauce goes on right before tossing. A slow hand in the pan leaves the beef chewy and weeping liquid into the bowl.
Here the beef marinates for 15 to 20 minutes with seasoning powder and oyster sauce, and the pan has to be properly hot before it goes in. The minced garlic is split in two, half fried for aroma and half saved raw for the fish sauce.
This batch weighs about 663g, at roughly 153 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse the 200g beef, drain and slice into bite sized pieces. Marinate with 1 teaspoon seasoning powder and 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, mix well and leave for 15 to 20 minutes.
Pick over the greens, wash and drain. Peel and mince the 4 garlic cloves, and wash and mince the horn chili.
Set a pan over high heat, add 30ml cooking oil and fry half the minced garlic until fragrant.
Once the pan is very hot, add the beef and stir fry quickly until just cooked, then turn off the heat so it stays tender.
Mix the fish sauce dressing: in a bowl combine 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons water, 3 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 1 tablespoon lime juice, stir until dissolved, then add the remaining minced garlic and the minced chili.
Line the bottom of a bowl with bean sprouts and chopped herbs, then add 200g noodles, the stir fried beef, lettuce and more herbs, and scatter over 10g peanuts and 5g fried shallots.
Pour the dressing over the bowl at the table and toss.
Tips
A roasted piece of ginger, scraped clean and pounded, rubbed over the beef and then rinsed off with cold water takes away any strong smell.
Quick movement over high heat is what keeps the beef tender rather than dry.
The kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves faster when it is stirred into the lime juice first.
The greens and noodles need to be thoroughly drained, as any water left behind weakens the dressing.
Pour the dressing on just before eating and toss straight away.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.