One of my favorite Vietnamese dishes is Shaken Beef, which I had the pleasure of trying when the Slanted Door was still located on Valencia St. in the Mission District of San Francisco. A few years later my friends and I were introduced, once again, to this amazing entree while dining at a now closed restaurant in New York City, called Nam Phuong, which we were very sorry to see leave Tribeca for new roots in Houston, Texas (the rent is cheaper in Texas than it is in Manhattan). As luck would have it a traditional Vietnamese place, with a "twist" opened in my neighborhood and has once again brought Shaken Beef back into my regular repertoire of favorite eats.
Zadin, which is located in the Castro District of San Francisco, has become a favorite haunt (we visit almost weekly) for my group of friends. The owners, who are also cousins, Bao and Truc, have done an amazing job of transforming Vietnamese fare in a fun and interesting way. The dishes are traditional, but also offer a slight twist on what you get on the streets of Siagon. The Shaken Beef, in my opinion, is very close to the traditional.
So for our Vietnamese Saturday at Orr Hot Springs in Northern California, I decided to try my hand at this dish. Bao gave me some pointers on preparation and marinade, but was tight lipped on her secrets so I searched online and found a recipe that I of course adapted in the hopes that it would produce a similarly flavorful dish.
My one recommendation is that you use fine filet of beef for this dish. Do not skimp on the meat. Ingredients are everything when cooking and this is no exception. Keep in mind that this is a two-day dish. The meat and the onions should marinate for about 24 hours.
What you will need:
For the Beef:
- 2-3 lbs of beef fillet, cubed into bite size piece (about 1/2-3/4 square inch)
- 4 cloves of garlic minced
- 2-3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Lots of freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup rice wine or sherry
For the Onions:
- 2 large red onions sliced thin (we sliced them into half moons)
- 1 cup of rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
To Serve:
- 1 head of red leaf lettuce chopped
- 1 big and beautiful platter
For the beef, combine all of the ingredients (except for the rice wine or sherry, the wine or sherry will be used during cooking) into a large mixing bowl, stir well so that all ingredients have coated the beef, cover and store in the refrigerator overnight. In a separate bowl, combine all of the ingredients for the onions and mix well. Cover and store in the refrigerator overnight.
Strain the onions and save the marinade. When you are ready to cook the meal heat up a wok to a very high temperature, add a small amount of olive oil into the pan and sear the beef by continuously tossing during the cooking process. This dish is best served when the beef is rare to medium rare. As the pieces are small the cooking time should be short. About a minute before you remove the beef add the rice wine or sherry and toss until the liquid has almost completely dissipated. Remove the beef from the wok and set aside. Place the onions in the Wok and cook, stirring constantly for about 1-2 minutes. You really only want to heat up the onions.
Arrange the lettuce onto the platter, top with the onions and then top the onions with beef. Drizzle the onion marinade onto the beef and serve.
This is best served with white or brown rice and some sauteed bok choy on the side.
Comments