Shaking Beef with Watercress

Name: Shaking Beef with Watercress
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1.5 lbs beef sirloin or beef tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes; 2 tbsp soy sauce; 2 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 tsp granulated sugar; 6 garlic cloves, minced; 1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground; 2 tbsp neutral oil with high smoke point; 2 tbsp unsalted butter; 4 cups watercress (or arugula), stems trimmed; 1 red onion, thinly sliced; 2 tbsp rice vinegar; 2 limes; 1/2 tsp kosher salt; 2 ripe tomatoes, sliced into wedges

Vietnamese bo luc lac - tender cubes of soy-marinated beef seared over blazing heat and tossed with garlic, butter, and a lime-salt-pepper dipping sauce, served over a bed of peppery watercress and pickled onion.

30 minMediumServes 4480 cal/serving

VietnameseDinnerStovetopHigh ProteinNut-FreePork-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

1.5 lbs beef sirloin or beef tenderloin, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp granulated sugar
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp black pepper, coarsely ground
2 tbsp neutral oil with high smoke point
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 cups watercress (or arugula), stems trimmed
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 limes
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced into wedges

Instructions

1

Marinate the beef: toss 1.5 lbs cut into 1-inch cubes beef sirloin or beef tenderloin with 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce, 2 tsp granulated sugar, half the 6 minced garlic cloves, and 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper. Set aside for 15 minutes at room temperature.
2

Prepare the dipping sauce: mix the juice of 2 limes with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and a pinch of black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
3

Quick-pickle the onion: toss 1 thinly sliced red onion with 2 tbsp rice vinegar and a pinch of salt. Let sit 10 minutes, then drain. Arrange 4 cups stems trimmed watercress (or arugula) and 2 sliced into wedges ripe tomatoes on a serving platter. Scatter the pickled onion over the top.
4

Heat a large wok or cast-iron skillet over the highest heat possible until it begins to smoke. Add 2 tbsp neutral oil with high smoke point.
5

Add the marinated beef in a single layer - do not crowd the pan (cook in batches if needed). Sear for 1 minute without moving, then shake or toss the pan to turn the cubes. Add the remaining garlic and 2 tbsp unsalted butter and toss continuously for another 1-2 minutes. The beef should be seared and browned on the outside and still slightly pink inside (internal temperature 135-145°F / 57-63°C depending on preference).
6

Immediately tip the hot beef and all the pan juices over the prepared watercress platter. Serve at once with the lime dipping sauce on the side.

Questions

Can I make Shaking Beef with Watercress dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 2 tbsp unsalted butter. Swap the butter for olive oil where it melts, or a plant-based block butter where it is creamed. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Can I make Shaking Beef with Watercress gluten-free?

Yes. The gluten in this entry is 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp oyster sauce. Swap the soy-based sauce for tamari or coconut aminos. Everything else proceeds as written.

How long does Shaking Beef with Watercress keep?

Refrigerate leftovers within two hours and eat them within three days. Reheat gently on the stovetop.

Can I halve or double Shaking Beef with Watercress?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. When doubling on the stovetop, use your widest pan or work in two batches so the food sears instead of steaming.

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,512 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.