The Best Bò Kho - Easy Vietnamese Beef Stew

This Vietnamese beef stew recipe was inspired by my Beef Pho Recipe,  Khao Piak, chicken noodle soup, and Ka Soy Noodles,

Vietnamese Beef Stew, Also known as Bò Kho is Vietnamese Comfort Food.

Every culture has their own version of beef stew and this Vietnamese Beef stew is extremely savory and satisfying. I love using beef chuck which has the perfect combination of meat and juicy fat. The beef is slowly braised on a stovetop, slow cooker or Instant pot. The fall apart beef is cooked with spices and aromatics common in Pho and the end result is a hearty flavorful stew.

This Bò Kho, Vietnamese Beef Stew is one of my FAVORITE stews!

This recipe can be cooked on stovetop in about 1-1.5 hours, adding the carrots at the last 15 minutes, or my favorite, in the Instant pot!

There are SO many ways to enjoy Bò Kho.

This Bò Kho recipe is one of my favorites because it can be enjoyed in SO MANY WAYS. There are some days I love toasting some French Bread and dipping into the Vietnamese Beef stew. Other times when I need a quick meal, I just scoop some of the stew over the rice and it is so easy to eat! My all time favorite way to enjoy this stew is as a beef noodle soup served with rice noodles.

If you LOVED this Beef Stew, here are some of my other braised recipes you might love!

• Red Braised Pork
• Caramelized spare ribs
• Braised Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 2.5 lbs Beef Chuck
• 3 Carrots

Aromatics & Spices

• 2 Onions
• 2 Shallots
• 5 Garlic
• 2 stalks Lemongrass
• 3 Aniseed
• 3 Bay Leaf
• 1 Cinnamon stick

Sauce Mixture

• 1 can Tomato Paste 6oz
• 1 can Beef Broth 14.5oz
• 2 tbsp Mushroom Seasoning
• ½ tsp 5 Spice Powder
• ½ tbsp Curry Powder
• 3 tbsp Fish Sauce

Other Ingredients

• 1 can Water 14.5oz
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp Black Pepper
• 2 tbsp Cooking oil

Garnish

• Cilantro
• Mint
• Red Onions
• Jalapeno

Served with

• White Rice
• Rice Noodles
• Fresh French Bread

Instructions

• Peel and slice carrots into 1.5" sections.
• Dice 2 onions, and 2 shallots, and mince 5 cloves of garlic.
• Cut Lemongrass into 3 sections and bruise the lemongrass with the back of your knife, or food mallet.
• Set the pressure cooker to saute mode and preheat on high.
• While the pot is heating up, Cut Beef Chuck into 1.5" Cubes and season all sides with salt and pepper.

• Add oil into the pressure cooker and add in ⅓ of Beef Chuck. Be careful not to crowd the pot. Sear 2 sides of the beef for 2-3 minutes each.
• Remove beef once browned and repeat batches until all the beef has browned. Add additional oil if needed.

• While the beef is browning, make the sauce mixture. Combine the following ingredients into a mixing cup or bowl and mix well:1 can Tomato Paste 6oz, 1 can Beef Broth 14.5oz, 2 tablespoon Mushroom Seasoning, ½ teaspoon 5 Spice Powder, ½ tablespoon Curry Powder, 3 tablespoon Fish Sauce
• Once all the beef is done browning add in the diced onions shallots and garlic into the pressure cooker. Saute for about 2 minutes, then add 1 can of water to deglaze the pot. Scrape all browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

• Add in the browned beef, carrots, sauce mixture, and the rest of seasonings: 2 stalks Lemongrass, 3 Aniseed, 3 Bay Leaf, 1 Cinnamon stick
• Set the pressure cooker to cook on high pressure for 30 minutes.
• While the stew is cooking, prepare the garnishes. Wash and prepare the cilantro and mint if using, and sliced jalapeños and red onions.
• Cook the white rice, noodles or slice bread.
• Let the pot naturally depressurize for 10 minutes after the cooking cycle has completed. Carefully release pressure.
• Garnish and serve

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