Shaking Beef with Vietnamese Red Rice

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Shaking Beef with Vietnamese Red Rice is a flavorful and comforting dish that combines tender cubes of marinated beef with garlicky stir fried red rice. The beef is tossed with onions and a light sauce for a balance of sweet, salty, and tangy flavors. Serve alongside vibrant red rice made with tomato paste, butter, and aromatic seasonings.

One of my favorite magazines is Cook’s Illustrated and there is a reason for it.   I don’t think that I’ve ever made a recipe from them that hasn’t worked out. One of the reasons is because they test and retest every single recipe.  They also usually talk about why a recipe works which I enjoy reading.

Shaking Beef with Vietnamese Red Rice are two separate recipes that came from Cook’s Illustrated.   They weren’t put together as a meal in the magazine but I thought that the combination of the two would make for a great meal so I made them as one meal.

I’ve actually never heard of shaking beef before but it has a sweet and tangy sauce on top of it which turned out to be really good.  It’s a Vietnamese dish.  I don’t think I’ve made any other Vietnamese dish except for Vietnamese Caramel Pork.

What is Shaking beef?

Shaking Beef is a classic Vietnamese dish. The name comes from the way the beef is cooked.  It is cut into cubes and quickly “shaken” or tossed in a hot pan or wok.

The Vietnamese Red Rice turns red from the tomato paste.  I thought that was a little odd because I always associate taste paste with Italian food but realize it can be in just about any food.  It adds a bit of flavor and texture to the rice which is nice.

We eat a lot of rice so I like to make different rice dishes like Lemon Garlic Rice.  I also make a really yummy Chorizo Fried Rice.

The beef and rice are both fairly simple recipes to make and it took me about 30 minutes to make both and have a complete meal.  While the beef recipe calls for sirloin steak tips I simply used sirloin steaks cut into cubes.   It was a good cut of meat to use in this dish.

Overall this is a flavorful combination of dishes and they really compliment one another.  I didn’t put the beef over top of watercress like it states in the recipe because I served it over top of the red rice instead.   If you want a bit more color to pop in the recipe putting watercress under the beef would be a good option.

Shaking Beef with Vietnamese Red Rice

A flavorful savory steak dish served with a rich, red rice.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes minutes

Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

For the beef:

• 2 teaspoon hoisin
• 2 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoon molasses
• 1 lb. sirloin steak cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 Tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 c. water
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 small red onion thinly sliced

For the rice:

• 1 1/2 c. jasmine rice
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 3/4 c. water
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 Tablespoon rice vinegar

Instructions

• In a medium bowl whisk together the hoisin, fish sauce, soy sauce, and molasses. Add the beef and toss to coat. Allow to sit for at least 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.
• Combine the lime juice and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
• Using tongs, remove the beef from the marinade and place in the hot skillet. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side. Remove beef to a bowl.
• Meanwhile, add the water, garlic, and cornstarch to the remaining marinade the beef was in. Whisk and set aside.
• Melt the butter in the same skillet you had the beef in. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
• Add the reserved marinade and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
• Add the beef back to the pan and toss to coat.
• To make the rice melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.
• Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until tomato paste is evenly distributed, about 2 minutes.
• Add water, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Stir, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.
• To serve place rice on a plate and top with beef. Serve with small bowls of the pepper lime sauce for dipping.

Notes

Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated