Shaking Beef Pho / Phở Bò Lúc Lắc

This shaking beef pho or pho bo luc lac is the fusion of two of the most iconic Vietnamese dishes: traditional pho with Vietnamese shaking beef. This recipe was inspired by my very talented friend, Chef Tu David Phu, who created this dish for District One in Las Vegas. When I saw Chef Tu’s version last year, I knew immediately that I had to have it, and since I’m broke right now, flying to LV was out of the question, so I made my own version! Honestly, this recipe has no business being this good, but the fusion of the two dishes complements each other incredibly well and is genuinely one of my favorite dishes I’ve made recently.

What is Shaking Beef Pho?

This dish has shades of “phở tái lăn,” a pho dish that originates from Hanoi. It features traditional pho with wok-fried, thinly sliced beef with garlic. Using that same concept but swapping it out for marinated cubes of steak instead actually makes a ton of sense and produces a top-tier fusion dish.

For my version, we’re keeping the northern-style pho broth because of its simple and saltier flavor profile, which makes it a better complement to the sweet and savory bo luc lac. Standard southern-style pho is typically sweeter and rounder in flavor, and in R&D, I found that the two produced a much sweeter end product, making it “ngán,” which is the Vietnamese word for when you’ve had too much of something, and you become sick of it.

For the shaking beef portion of this dish, I’ve kept the marinade exactly the same as my standard bo luc lac recipe but simplified it by adding only onions and choosing to omit some of the other components, such as bell peppers, tomatoes, and cucumbers.

What brings this dish all together is adding chili oil, and honestly, when it comes to pho, I consider myself a purist. I don’t like adding anything to my broth. No hoisin, no sriracha, NOTHING. However, adding a mild-tasting chili oil, like Lao Gan Ma, is a really nice touch. I don’t want the chili oil to overtake the flavor of the broth, but I want it to add a little bit of heat, color, and complexity. Adding the chili oil almost gives it a bun bo hue type of vibe that really takes this dish to the next level.