Vietnam's celebration beef, straight off a smoking-hot pan

Bo luc lac means "shaking beef" — cubes of fillet tossed over ferocious heat until they're caramelised outside and still rosy in the middle, then tipped over watercress so the hot juices wilt the greens and become the dressing. In Vietnam it's a celebration dish, made with the tenderest cut in the house, and that's precisely what's in your pack. The marinade takes thirty minutes in the fridge and the cooking takes four. The lime-pepper dip on the side is non-negotiable — one taste and you'll understand why.

55 mins 2 servings Prep 45 minsCook 10 minsMain CourseVietnamese

Ingredients

  • 2 Your Farmer grass-fed eye fillet medallions (about 140g each), cut into 3cm cubes
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • 2 tsp white sugar
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil (rice bran or similar), divided
  • 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar
  • 1 bunch watercress, washed (or 2 big handfuls of rocket)
  • 1 ripe tomato, cut into wedges
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Instructions

For the marinade

Toss the beef cubes with the garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

beef cubes2 cloves garlic1 tbsp oyster sauce2 tsp fish sauce

For the salad and dip

Toss the red onion with the rice vinegar and let it soften while the beef marinates. Arrange the watercress and tomato on a serving platter.

1/2 red onion1 tbsp rice vinegar1 bunch watercress

Stir the lime juice, pepper and salt together in a small dipping bowl.

juice of 1 lime1 tsp black pepper1/2 tsp sea salt

For the beef

Heat a wok or your heaviest pan over the highest heat until it's properly smoking — this dish lives or dies on the heat. Add the remaining oil.

1 tbsp neutral oil

Add the beef in a single layer and leave it alone for a full minute to caramelise. Then shake and toss for 2–3 minutes more, until deeply browned outside and still rosy in the middle. Work in two batches if your pan is small.

Tip the hot beef and every drop of pan juice over the watercress, scatter with the pickled onion, and serve immediately with jasmine rice and the lime-pepper dip alongside.

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Why Shaking Beef Demands the Fillet

In Vietnam, bo luc lac has always been a special-occasion dish, and the reason is the cut. The cubes get three or four minutes of ferocious heat and not a second more — there's no time for connective tissue to soften, so the beef has to start tender. That's the eye fillet's whole job description. It's the tenderloin, the laziest muscle on the beast, and it's the traditional choice for this dish precisely because it stays soft when the outside is hard-caramelised. "Luc lac" is the shaking itself — the toss of the wok that rolls the cubes so every face catches the heat. Your Farmer® fillet comes as two 140g medallions from our smaller-framed grass-fed cattle, and cubed up they're exactly the honest two serves this dish was built around. One rule above all: never crowd the pan, and never cook the cubes past rosy — this cut is the one you protect from overcooking at all costs. Our guide to cooking grass-fed beef explains why hot-and-fast suits grass-fed cuts so well.

Swaps and Variations

Plenty of Vietnamese home cooks make luc lac with sirloin or rump when fillet's not on hand — both work, cut slightly smaller and tossed just as briefly. A knob of butter thrown in for the last 30 seconds is a common touch that adds gloss and richness. Rocket stands in for watercress with the same peppery job, and a handful of halved cherry tomatoes can replace the wedges. If lime-pepper-salt wins you over — and it will — try the same dip with barbecued chicken or grilled fish.

Storage and Leftovers

Marinate the beef up to a day ahead in the fridge if that suits your evening better; the 30 minutes in the recipe is simply the minimum. Raw medallions keep two to three days in the coldest part of the fridge, and frozen ones thaw best overnight in the fridge. Cooked luc lac is an eat-now dish — reheating pushes the cubes past rosy — so toss any leftovers cold through a noodle salad with extra lime the next day. The fillet arrives in the Pack A rotation of our grass-fed beef CSA share, or grab the twin pack on its own when it's in surplus.

Frequently asked questions

I don't have a wok — will a frying pan work?

Yes, as long as it's heavy and properly preheated — cast iron is ideal. The key is heat and space, not the shape of the pan, so cook the beef in two batches rather than crowding it.

How do I keep the cubes medium-rare?

Get the pan smoking before the beef goes in, leave the cubes untouched for the first minute so they caramelise instead of stew, and pull them at three to four minutes total. Cubes this size keep cooking for a minute off the heat, so err on the early side.

Can I marinate it overnight?

Yes — up to 24 hours in the fridge is fine and deepens the flavour. Much longer and the soy and fish sauce start to cure the surface of the meat, so a day is the sensible ceiling.

What is the lime-pepper dip supposed to taste like?

Sharp, salty and aromatic all at once — it's muoi tieu chanh, the classic Vietnamese table dip. Each cube of beef gets a quick drag through it, and the lime cuts the caramelised richness perfectly.

Is the sugar essential?

It does real work here — it's what builds the dark caramelised crust in such a short cook. You can halve it, but skip it entirely and you'll lose the glossy char that makes the dish.

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