Shake it off! Shake it off! (Bo Luc Lac)

It seems like the only Vietnamese phrase my Chinese friends know is "Bo Luc Lac."  Probably because it sounds funny.  Luc lac means shaking and Bo means beef, so shaking beef.  Named because when cooking, you shake the beef cubes around to coat with sauce and to cook evenly. This wasn't a dish I ever really ate growing up, my mom never made it and I never ordered it at Vietnamese restaurants since it was always one of those add on menu items.

Luckily, growing up in San Jose, where we have the largest Vietnamese population in the US, allowed me to eat at a ton Vietnamese restaurants growing up. The thing with Vietnamese restaurants is that they'll specialize in a particular dish, and do that dish really well.  Pho shops do pho, if you want rice plates, you go to a rice plate place, and so on.  Most will have a few other items on the menu, but you wouldn't go to a rice plate place and order their pho.

Unfortunately, there's no place I know of that only does bo luc lac, and so I never ordered it.  It wasn't until going to school in Davis (with only 2 Vietnamese restaurants) that I was exposed to this dish.  I guess I've been missing out all these years.  Succulent, tender beef, coated in a complex sauce served with peppery watercress and sharp picked shallots to cut through the fattiness of the beef.

It's a pretty easy to make dish, but I decided to update it with a modern twist to make it a little easier to have come out perfect every time.

Shaking Beef
2 lbs of steak - your choice in cut, I prefer rib eyes.

Shaking Beef Sauce:

1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup mirin
Pepper to taste

Pickled Shallots

1 sliced shallot
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp water

Accompaniments 
Watercress (or arugula)
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Rice

1. Sous vide steaks to desired done-ness. Here I did 130F for 2 hours for med. rare. (See my sous vide steak post on how to cook the perfect steak)
2. Sear steaks in a hot pan with a generous amount of oil for 45 seconds each side to brown.
3. Pour out oil, but reserve the bits that are stuck on the pan.
3. Combine the sauce ingredients, along with the juices from the sous vide bag. Deglaze the pan with sauce mixture.  Simmer over low heat until slightly thickened.
4. Cut beef into cubes and toss in the sauce to coat.  Serve immediately with rice, and vegetable accompaniments.  Or serve with sauce on the side.