When it comes to cooking, I tend to stick to traditional Vietnamese recipes—dishes that remind me of home, family, and the flavors I grew up with. But every now and then, inspiration strikes, and I take a creative leap. Enter my Vietnamese Bo Kho Chili, a fusion recipe combining the rich, aromatic spices of bò kho – Vietnamese beef stew with the hearty, comforting chili vibe. When I have a breakthrough success like this with any of my fusion recipes, I honestly can’t help but feel excited about it, and I’m even more excited to share it with you all!
The Perfect Fusion of Bo Kho and Chili
This recipe takes everything I love about all the warm and comforting flavors of bo kho—the fragrant star anise, cinnamon, and lemongrass, and brings it into chili territory. I swapped out the traditional beef shank for ground beef and continued to stay true to bò khon’s bold flavor profile with fish sauce, ginger, and annatto oil for that signature color and taste.
I serve this chili over a warm bowl of fluffy jasmine rice to push the fusion even further. The combination is magic: the savory and hearty chili soaks into the rice, creating a comforting, flavorful bite every time. I top it with diced onions for crunch and chiffonade Thai basil for a bright, herbaceous finish that ties everything together.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This Bò Kho Chili isn’t just delicious—it’s also a breeze to make. Traditional bo kho requires a bit of time to develop its complex flavors, but by adapting it into chili form, you get the dish’s essence in a fraction of the time. It’s perfect for busy weeknights or when you want something hearty and satisfying without spending hours in the kitchen. And, of course, it’s a dish that’s as comforting as it is filling. The hearty ground beef and warm spices will warm you from the inside out, making it perfect for cozy nights or when you need a little pick-me-up.
The dish is super customizable, too! Feel free to add tomato sauce if you like your chili more soup-like, and if you want beans, go ahead and drop those in there, too. Then you can add your favorite chili toppings like shredded cheese, sour cream, or sliced jalapeños, or keep it classic with Vietnamese-inspired garnishes like lime wedges, fresh cilantro, or sriracha. It’s your bowl—make it your own.
Bo Kho Chili
6
servings10
minutes40
minutesIngredients
3 lbs 3 Lean Ground Beef
4 4 Carrots
3 tbsp 3 Bo Kho Seasoning
1 tbsp 1 Oil
- Aromatics:
2 2 Stalks Lemongrass
1 Small 1 Cinnamon Stick
1 1 Star Anise
1 1 Bay Leaf
2 Slices 2 Ginger
- Sauce:
1/2 1/2 White Onion
1 tbsp 1 Minced Garlic
3 tbsp 3 Tomato Paste
16.9 oz 16.9 Coconut Water
1/4 cup 1/4 Water
10 oz 10 Grape Tomatoes
2 tbsp 2 Soy Sauce
1/2 tbsp 1/2 MSG
1/2 1/2 inch nub of Rock Sugar
2 tbsp 2 Fish Sauce
2 tbsp 2 Cornstarch
2 tbsp 2 Water
Salt and Pepper to Taste
- Accompaniments and Garnishes:
Cooked Jasmine Rice
White Onion
Thai Basil
Lime
Directions
- Prep:
- Finely dice a white onion. Save half to sauté and the other half to use as a garnish
- Cut the bottom and tops of the lemongrass stalk, remove an outer woodsy layer, and then pound and bruise the lemongrass using the back of your knife. Then, cut two slices of ginger
- Peel carrots and then dice into small cubes
- Remove the leaves from the stem of the Thai basil, then stack leaves together, roll tightly, and thinly chiffonade the leaves to use as a garnish later. Then, cut Limes into wedges
- Cook:
- To a big pot on medium-high heat, add in a splash of oil, sauté half the white onion and a tablespoon of minced garlic for a minute or until fragrant
- Add in tomato paste and cook for another 1-2 minutes to cook out raw flavor and to help sugars caramelize
- Add in ground beef and brown off while breaking the meat up with a spatula or wooden spoon
- Add bo kho seasoning, coconut water, and water—season with soy sauce, rock sugar, MSG, salt, and pepper to taste. Drop in grape tomatoes and mix well.
- Add in aromatics – lemongrass stalks, ginger slices, dried star anise, dried cinnamon stick and bay leaf. Bring up to a boil, and reduce the heat to low; cover the pot with a slight crack and let the chili simmer for 25 minutes
- Then add diced carrots, and continue to let the chili simmer for 10-15 minutes or until carrots have softened
- Season to taste with fish sauce, and add a cornstarch slurry to thicken chili. Make any adjustments to seasonings
- Serve:
- To serve, scoop white jasmine rice into a bowl, pushing it to one side. Ladle in chili on the other side and garnish with diced onions, Thai basil, and a wedge of lime. Enjoy!
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I haven’t made this yet but wanted to confirm you meant 4lbs of ground beef for 6 servings?
Maybe 6-8 depending how big your portions are! Since this chili doesn’t have beans or anything, most of the volume will come from the ground beef itself!
I don’t see in the step by step instructions when to add the aromatics? I assumed it should be in step 4 after basing it off of your video.
Thanks for catching that – I’ve updated the recipe to make sure to include when to add the aromatics!
Just made this and it was delicious! For those who read the ingredients list and thought, “4 lbs of sounds like a lot” – me too. Maybe we just eat smaller portions in my house, but I got 6-8 servings with 2 lbs of meat. I scaled down the bo kho seasoning, lemongrass, tomato paste, soy sauce, coconut water, and msg. I used 10ish oz of coconut water and omitted that extra bit of water and it was fine. Less cornstarch slurry, too. Season to taste with fish sauce and white sugar (didn’t have any rock). Would make again!
i’ve made quite a few recipes from social media or this site, most things I like, but this wasn’t my favorite. I didn’t hate it. I just didn’t love it, I ended up doing half the recipe so maybe it’s just not a good recipe to be halved? but regardless of the recipe as I saw you comment to someone else, if it’s mainly meat, not understanding at all have 4 pounds equals 6 to 8 servings lol I don’t know how much meat people are eating, but I feel like the average person would not be eating more than a quarter of a pound maybe half a pound if you’re really hungry so I already had started with just 2 pounds of meat. I could not get my stove to simmer at a Good temperature so I had to keep messing with it, but it definitely took longer than the time stated to get my tomatoes to blister and for the carrots to be soft, so I ended up just letting it lightly simmer for an extra 20 minutes to bring out more flavor, and then when it was done, I ended up adding more salt and pepper, I wish it specified how much salt to do for that much meat, I added more fish sauce, a little more of a different kind of sugar, and more of the seasoning powder, along with a little more fish sauce and a dash of honey, and now it has a pretty good flavor, but I definitely don’t think I’d make it this way again, I would suggest maybe sautéing the tomatoes and carrots for a few seconds or a couple of minutes before adding in the rest of the stuff, IMO
Thanks for giving my recipe a shot and sharing your feedback! Taste is subjective, and that’s completely okay that you didn’t love it.
Made this recipe but only had 2 pounds of ground beef, no coconut water (used regular water) and it turned out great! 2 pounds was enough for 4 of us with a bit of left overs. We also ate it with pasta, not rice and it was like a Viet bolognese – so good!
Yes Viet bolognese is on point!
Just gave this a shot. I like my Bo kho to be a touch sweeter so I added a bit more sweetener, but other than that it was FIRE. Made it for meal prep. Stupid high in sodium but packing 60 grams of protein per serving haha.
Hell yeah Jordan! Glad you nejoyed it and adjusted it to your own palate!
The idea you thought of for this is genius. Out of curiosity, how would this do for meal prep? And within that same vein, what are the macros for this? I could see myself eating this meal prep wise.
Probably wouldn’t change too much on the ingredients, maybe reducing the amount of sodium, and potentially replacing the rice. Not exact macros, unless you weigh things out, but a good estimate maybe close to 450cal/37P,19C,23F without the rice. Hope this helps!
I made this for a chili contest and I really enjoyed it! I did a few things different: extra tbsp of bo kho seasoning, 2 extra tbsp of fish sauce, decreased the soy sauce, skipped the sugar bc the tomatoes add sweetness already, and I added diced potatoes. I smashed the tomatoes to burst before adding in the carrots & potatoes. This recipe as is with 3lbs of beef easily makes 6-8 servings depending on how you’re portioning it out. At the end I added lemongrass paste bc I thought it just needed a little more personally. Overall a keeper and would be a great freezer meal prep option!
I made this for a chili contest and I really enjoyed it! I did a few things different: extra tbsp of bo kho seasoning, 2 extra tbsp of fish sauce, decreased the soy sauce, skipped the sugar bc the tomatoes add sweetness already, and I added diced potatoes. I smashed the tomatoes to burst before adding in the carrots & potatoes. This recipe as is with 3lbs of beef easily makes 6-8 servings depending on how you’re portioning it out. At the end I added lemongrass paste bc I thought it just needed a little more personally. Overall a keeper and would be a great freezer meal prep option!
I’m glad you adapted the recipe and made it your own!
So delicious! Family loved it! Flavors reminded me of childhood.