Lau bo nhung giam gives a clean, tart broth built on fresh coconut water, and a slice of beef dipped into it cooks in seconds. It comes with rice paper, fresh herbs and a bowl of mam nem fragrant with minced pineapple. The hardest part is the smell of the beef, which will take over the whole pot if it is not dealt with.
Rubbing the beef with white rice wine, ginger, salt and lime and leaving it 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing clears it completely. The beef has to be sliced against the grain and very thin so it stays tender in the broth.
This batch weighs about 3.4kg, at roughly 80 calories per 100g.
Method
Rinse 1kg beef, pat it dry with a damp cloth and slice it thinly against the grain.
Peel the pineapple, cut out the eyes and divide it in two, slicing one half and finely mincing the other. Bruise the lemongrass and cut it into lengths. Finely chop the garlic, shallot and bird's eye chilies. Slice half the onion thinly and lay it over the plate of beef, and cut the other half into wedges.
Set a pot with 2 tablespoons cooking oil, fry the bruised lemongrass until fragrant, then add the chopped garlic, shallot and chili and cook for another 2 minutes.
Pour in 1.5 liters fresh coconut water, 100ml vinegar, 27g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and the onion wedges, cook for about 5 minutes and adjust the seasoning.
Make the dipping sauce: put the minced pineapple, 4 tablespoons mam nem and 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend in a bowl and mix well.
Set the pot on a burner in the middle of the table. Once it boils, dip each slice of beef until just cooked, and eat it with rice vermicelli or rolled in rice paper with fresh herbs and mam nem.
Tips
Rubbing the beef with white rice wine, ginger, salt and lime and leaving it 5 to 10 minutes before rinsing clears the smell.
A charred shallot, pounded smooth and mixed through the meat, works just as well.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves more slowly, so stir the bowl of mam nem again after 5 minutes before tasting.
Beef firmed up in the freezer for 20 minutes is far easier to slice thin.
Keep the pot at a bare simmer, since a rolling boil tightens the slices and makes them tough.
Dip one slice at a time and lift it out as soon as it changes color, since a long soak takes all the sweetness out.
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.