23 Reviews of Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bo' Kho)

From: Sackville

On Mar 30, 2005

A very nice stew. I think this would be a good introduction to Asian food for people who want to try something a little different but aren't sure they'll like it. The flavours are all there but very subtle so it wouldn't be overwhelming for the uninitiated palate. Personally, I would add a bit of hot sauce to it next time as we enjoy spicy things but it is nice without as well. One hint though, make sure you buy good stewing beef with not too much gristle. I got a bad lot of it and it took a lot of trimming and even after cooking some pieces of beef were tough. I'm sure that wasn't the fault of the recipe though but rather the beef. We served with Aromatic Sticky Rice, Aromatic Sticky Rice

From: Chef #329119

On Dec 13, 2007

My husband who's Vietnamese (and whose mom makes fantastic Vietnamese home cooking) raved about this after I made it. I browned the meat and onions, then threw them & all the other stuff into a slow cooker (out of sheer laziness), adding some red potatoes & Vietnamese curry powder since his mom usually adds those. Also since I didn't have tomatoes I just used a dollop of tomato paste. I cooked it about 2 1/2-3 hrs on high since the potatoes didn't soften as fast as I'd thought on the low heat, and then another hour on low. But I'm sure if you just left it all day on low it would be fine.

From: Marmee-of-3

On May 28, 2007

i have made this twice already. both times using a slow cooker cos i like the fact that i can dump everything into the pot and forget about it for the next few hours. The first time i made this, i added 3 cups water to the pot. I didnt sear the meat and as a result, I ended up with alot of sauce. I had to transfer all the contents to a wok and simmer until the sauce reduces. It was yummy the 1st time. The 2nd time i made this, i reduced the water to 1 cup only. On a whim, I boiled some spaghetti to go with the stew and it became a version of a beef noodle. Easy and quick. I did increase the fish sauce and brown sugar to compensate for a more watery stew. Thanks for sharing.....

From: Chez Arnow

On Aug 14, 2005

Very good. Added a slurry of about 2 t cornstarch & 1/4 cu water to thicken.

From: elsokolj

On Sep 25, 2006

I made your stew tonight. My husband and I loved it. The smell was wondeful. Taste has a good balance between salt and sugar. Fish sauce gives extra nuance but does not smell fishy at all. I added little bit of corn starch to make sauce thicker. What a great and different way to use stew meat. Thank you very much for your posting.

From: Akikobay

On Mar 23, 2005

This was an incredible dish. We followed the recipe exactly as written and the only trouble I had was at the very end when I was trying to fish out the star anise before serving! The flavors were all wonderful and came together really nicely. I am not usually very fond of fish sauce, but I used exactly the amount specified and I thought it added a lot, but was not overbearing. We served it with French bread and it was perfect. I've already had requests to make it again, so I know it'll be a regular on our menu!

From: davidf

On Jan 19, 2007

I had prepared this dish for many of my vietnamese friends and they enjoyed it immensely. However, I had prepared the stew in a slow cooker which seems to make the beef a little more tender. I also added a chili pepper for a little spice. Potatoes added are also acceptable.

From: Skipper/Sy

On Mar 30, 2005

Hello Trang, I read about this dish in the Asian thread and happy I made it. It was excellent. I used less Fish Sauce and almost no sugar, but it came out perfect for my taste. I made a similar Chinese dish with Star Anise... but add Japanese Dakon. Even though the recipe is for 4 servings, I ate half the dish myself... with white rice and home baked bread.

From: Chef #503343

On May 21, 2007

I tried this today and this is totally authentic. It's even better than my mother in laws!! I cooked mine from morning to night and the meat was oh so tender and the seasoning was all the way through. I got beef meat with tendons from some chinese butcher and it was so delicious. Can't wait for my husband to come home and try it. I didn't have brown sugar so used raw sugar. Would be great for a cold winter night.... mmmm

From: tyk

On Feb 11, 2008

it was flavorful, but missing some depth. maybe it was because i didn't have lemongrass. i put my carrots in at the same time as the beef and cooked it. i also added a can of condensed beef broth to try to add that something. it was the perfect saltiness.