Water Spinach Salad with Beef / Gỏi Bò Rau Muống

Vietnamese drinking culture is HUGE—there’s even a specific word to describe it, “nhậu”. In Vietnam, there are restaurants and bars dedicated to making drinking foods (độ nhậu). Essentially, it’s a place where you can gather with your best friends, share fantastic food, drink excessively, and make memories. My absolutely favorite do nhau is this water spinach salad!

One of my favorite restaurants in Seattle is Rainier Restaurant. I’ve been going there since I was a little kid, and they make the very best version of this dish. My recipe is an homage to that memory, and I really hope you enjoy my take on it!

What is Goi Bo Rau Muong?

The direct translation for this dish is, “water spinach salad with beef”. However, it is also often called rare beef salad or morning glory salad at restaurants.
The salad utilizes just the thicker stem portion of the water spinach and is topped with thin slices of beef. It is usually accompanied by a tangy fish sauce, sometimes made with fermented shrimp paste. The combination of the crispy spinach, the lightly cooked beef, the super-flavorful sauce, and all the fresh herbs and garnishes makes for a truly tasty bite.

If you find it at a restaurant, and it’s called rare beef salad there will be some slight differences. The thin slices of beef are typically barely cooked, just blanched in water for a couple of seconds. My version stir-fries the beef instead. Both are equally tasty!

How do you get the water spinach to curl up like that?

There are a few different ways to achieve this, including cutting the stems into thin strips with a knife, but the easiest way is to use a specialized shredder. Using the shredder, you just slide the stems down the guide stick, push through the covered blades, and pull out the other end.
Once you have the thin strips, all you have to do is let them hang out in cold water for 10 minutes, and they’ll be curly before you know it!

Tip* The shredder will occasionally get clogged, so make sure you push through the spare bits every so often.

If you like this recipe, also give my Goi Bo Luc Lac / Shaking Beef Salad a try too!