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Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef)

Name: Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef)
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 2 lbs beef sirloin, cubed; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 2 shallots, minced; 3 tbsp oyster sauce; 2 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp soy sauce; 1 tbsp sugar; 1/2 tsp black pepper; 2 tbsp butter; 4 cups watercress; 2 medium tomatoes, sliced; 1 small red onion, sliced; 2 tbsp lime juice; salt and pepper dipping sauce

Bo Luc Lac (Shaking Beef) reads umami 8.8, salinity 6.1 and funk & ferment 5.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Vietnamese main, about 35 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 10.0 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 4.4 / 10
Sour & Bright — 6.4 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.4 / 10
Rich & Fat — 5.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 4.0 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 8.8 · Salinity 6.1 · Funk & Ferment 5.5 · Richness 5.4 · Sourness 5.0 · Citrus 4.6 · Marine & Briny 4.3 · Sweetness 4.0 · Allium 3.8 · Herbaceous 1.6 · Fruity 1.5 · Warm Spice 1.4 · Earthy 1.3 · Bitterness 0.9 · Heat 0.7

What's in it (14)

2 lbs beef sirloin, cubed
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, minced
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp butter
4 cups watercress
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
2 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper dipping sauce

Time & effort: about 35 min (20 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 90.9 kcal, 11.9 g protein, 3.7 g fat, 3.1 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (3 steps)

Marinate beef cubes in garlic, oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and pepper for at least 30 minutes.
Sear in a screaming-hot wok in small batches with butter, shaking the pan constantly to brown all sides quickly while keeping centers pink.
Serve over a bed of watercress and sliced tomato and onion, with a lime-salt-pepper dipping sauce.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac) — Vietnamese
Thai Fried Rice with Chicken (Khao Pad Gai) — Thai
Shrimp Pad Thai — Thai
Thai Fried Rice (Khao Pad) — Thai
Thai Basil Shrimp Fried Rice — Thai

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, funk & ferment mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.