Thit Bo Luc Lac

Some Vietnamese foods have been poorly translated into English, and thit bo luc lac is one of them. Thit bo means beef and luc lac refers to how you have to shake the skillet or wok to cook the small pieces of meat. With its peppery bite, the watercress is a great contrast to the beef. Coating the watercress in a light dressing and then putting the hot beef over the top, the cress wilts ever so slightly and the beef juices and dressing blend together into a tangy sauce that's great spooned over rice. This is a pretty easy dish to whip up from readily available ingredients.Use both the light and dark soy sauces if you want a little extra deep color. Feel free to dress up the final platter with some tomato wedges. If serving without the watercress, opt to present the beef with a side of salt, pepper, lime dipping sauce (muoi tieu chanh) for guests to dip the cubes in.

Yield:

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 1 1/4 pound tri-tip (bottom sirloin/culotte) steaks
2. .
3. For the marinade:
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5. 1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
6. 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
7. 2 cloves garlic, minced
8. 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
9. 1 teaspoon fish sauce
10. 1 tablespoon regular (light) soy sauce, or 2 teaspoons regular (light) and 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
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12. For the dressing:
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14. 1 shallot, thinly sliced (1/4 cup total)
15. 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
16. 1 or 2 pinches salt
17. 3 to 5 cracks black pepper
18. 1 1/2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
19. 2 tablespoons water
20. 4 cups watercress, use only the tender leafy parts
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22. 2 tablespoon canola or peanut oil

Directions

1. Trim excess fat from the steaks and then cut each into 3/4-inch cubes. In a bowl, combine the pepper, sugar, garlic, oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce. Add the beef and toss well to coat. Set aside to marinade for 2o minutes or up to 2 hours.
2. For the dressing, put the shallot in a mesh strainer and rinse under water for about 10 seconds to reduce some of the harshness. In large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, salt, pepper, vinegar and water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the shallot. Put the watercress on top but hold off on tossing.
3. Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the beef and spread it out in one layer. Cook in batches, if necessary. Let the beef sear for about 1 minute, before shaking the wok or skillet to sear another side. Cook for another 30 seconds or so and shake. Cook the beef for about 4 minutes total, until nicely browned and medium rare.
4. In between shakes, toss the watercress and transfer onto a platter or serving dish. When the beef is done, pile the beef on to of the watercress and serve immediately with lots of rice.

Notes