Shaking beef#Cambodian version
{{Short description|French-inspired Vietnamese dish}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Shaking beef
| image = Product Shots of Food-Bo Luc Lac.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| alternate_name = Bo luc lac
| country = Vietnam
| region = Southeast Asia
| associated_cuisine = Vietnamese and Cambodian
| served = Hot
| main_ingredient = Beef, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, and oyster sauce.
| serving_size = 240
| calories = 655
| protein = 39
| fat = 52
| carbohydrate = 6.4
| similar_dish = Lomo saltado
}}
Shaking beef or bo luc lac ({{langx|vi|bò lúc lắc}}, {{langx|fr|bœuf lôc lac}}) is a Vietnamese dish that consists of beef that has been cut into small cubes, marinated with soy sauce, fish sauce and oyster sauce, then sauteed in a wok with red onion and pepper before being served on a bed of fresh lettuce with slices of tomato and cucumber. Prior to French colonization, beef was considered a luxury ingredient in Vietnam, as cows were rarely slaughtered for food and were kept as working animals to be used for labor instead. This dish was, therefore, mostly reserved for formal events, such as wedding banquets and anniversaries, although now it has become a common food.{{Cite book |last=Le |first=Helen |author-link= |title=Vietnamese Food with Helen's Recipes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1_AaBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA70 |year=2014 |publisher=CreateSpace |isbn=9781500529710 |pages= |quote= |accessdate=}}{{Cite web |last=Le |first=Tam |date=31 August 2020 |title=Shaken Beef |url=https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a33851448/shaken-beef-recipe/ |website=Delish |quote= |accessdate=27 February 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Ngo |first=Tristan |date=5 September 2018 |title=Bo Luc Lac - Cubed Beef |url=https://www.asialifemagazine.com/vietnam/bo-luc-lac-cubed-beef/ |website=Asia Life |quote= |accessdate=27 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125075727/https://www.asialifemagazine.com/vietnam/bo-luc-lac-cubed-beef/ |archive-date=25 January 2022}}
Origin and etymology
Shaking beef originated from the sidewalk eateries of Saigon.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=20 April 2024 |title=Cách làm món Bò lúc lắc thơm ngon, hấp dẫn |url=https://mamifarm.com/cach-lam-mon-bo-luc-lac-thom-ngon-hap-dan/ |website=Mami Farm |quote=Bò lúc lắc có nguồn gốc từ các quán ăn vỉa hè ở Sài Gòn xưa. (Trans.: Shaking beef has its origins from the sidewalk eateries of old Saigon.) |accessdate=29 November 2024}} When the dish was developed, though it used ingredients brought over by the French,{{Cite web |last=Nghien |first=Phien |date=17 April 2017 |title=The Intimate Friendship for Vietnamese and French Cuisine |url=http://goldenspoonawards.com/news/the-intimate-friendship-for-vietnamese-and-french-cuisine-c943a2017041708474929.htm |website=The Golden Spoon Awards |quote= |accessdate=}} it also followed East and Southeast Asian culinary tradition, which calls for the meat to be cut into bite-sized cubes that can be easily handled with chopsticks and eaten without the use of cutlery.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=11 August 2021 |title=Nguyên liệu, tẩm ướp và hướng dẫn cách làm bò lúc lắc ngon tại nhà |url=https://vietgiaitri.com/nguyen-lieu-tam-uop-va-huong-dan-cach-lam-bo-luc-lac-ngon-tai-nha-20210811i5951656/ |website=Việt Giải Trí |quote=Thay vì ăn cả miếng steak dày của người Tây thì chúng ta đã thái miếng nhỏ nhắn, xinh xắn hơn để phù hợp với văn hóa phương Đông. (Trans.: Instead of eating whole steaks like Westerners do, we cut it into smaller, prettier pieces to suit Eastern culture.) |accessdate=29 November 2024}}{{Cite web |last=Gérard |first=Sabrina |date=24 June 2018 |title=Lok Lak |url=https://www.196flavors.com/cambodia-lok-lak/ |website=196 Flavors |quote=Because of the use of chopsticks in Vietnamese cuisine, the steak in the bò lúc lắc is cut into pieces. |accessdate=29 November 2024}} This detail gives rise to the first possible etymology for the dish. It was basically named bò lúc lắc because the small, cubed pieces of beef resemble playing dice, which are called hột lúc lắc in Vietnam.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=16 September 2024 |title=Fried Rice with Shaking Beef (Cơm Chiên Bò Lúc Lắc) |url=https://www.vietnamesefoodrecipes.com/fried-rice-with-shaking-beef/ |website=Vietnamese Food Recipes |quote= |accessdate=}}{{Cite web |last=Quốc |first=Dũng |date=27 December 2017 |title=Bò lúc lắc ngon 'xúc xắc' phố Bolsa |url=https://www.nguoi-viet.com/doi-song/bo-luc-lac-ngon-xuc-xac-pho-bolsa/#google_vignette |website=Người Việt |quote=Mà "xúc xắc" cũng chính là hình dáng của thịt bò, được xắt từng miếng nhỏ như kích thước của những viên xúc xắc (hoặc gọi là hột lúc lắc) trước khi áp chảo. (Trans.: But "dice" is also the shape of beef, cut into small pieces like the size of xúc xắc (or also called lúc lắc) before pan-frying.) |accessdate=29 November 2024}}{{Cite web |last=Trường |first=Thịnh |date=8 November 2022 |title=Trải nghiệm vị bò lúc lắc "chuẩn Âu" tại Lẩu Đức Trọc |url=https://dantri.com.vn/du-lich/trai-nghiem-vi-bo-luc-lac-chuan-au-tai-lau-duc-troc-20221108104728176.htm |website=Dân Trí |quote=Chính vì vậy mà món ăn này được đặt tên là bò lúc lắc như cách gọi lái của từ xúc xắc. (Trans.: That's why this dish is named bò lúc lắc, a play on the word xúc xắc.) |accessdate=29 November 2024}}
Two other possible etymologies exist centered around the literal translation of bò lúc lắc and what lúc lắc is referring to. In the Vietnamese language, bò means “beef” and lúc lắc means “shaken” or “shaking”.{{Cite web |last=Livingston |first=Rika |date=24 March 2021 |title=Bo Luc Lac Recipe (Vietnamese Shaking Beef) |url=https://poshjournal.com/bo-luc-lac-recipe |website=Posh Journal |quote=Bò Lúc Lắc is a famous Vietnamese beef stir fry. In the Vietnamese language, bo means beef, and Lúc Lắc means shaken. |accessdate=13 April 2023}}{{Cite web |last=Trinh |first=Philippe |date=4 November 2024 |title=Bo Luc Lac - Vietnamese Shaking Beef Recipe |url=https://www.whiskeyandbooch.com/blog/shaking-beef-recipe |website=Whiskey and Booch |quote= |accessdate=}} Lúc lắc could describe the constant shaking of the wok that’s needed to get every individual steak cube evenly seared on all sides, while keeping them nice and juicy on the inside.{{Cite web |last=Beiser |first=Alpana |date=23 July 2022 |title=Bò Lúc Lắc (Vietnamese Shaking Beef) |url=https://gypsyplate.com/bo-luc-lac/ |website=GypsyPlate |quote= |accessdate=}} Alternatively, it can be a reference to the motion of the beef cubes themselves. These diced pieces of meat are essentially “shaking” (moving back and forth) as they are tossed in the wok.{{Cite web |last=Gérard |first=Sabrina |date=24 June 2018 |title=Lok Lak |url=https://www.196flavors.com/cambodia-lok-lak/ |website=196 Flavors |quote=Lok lak is so popular in Cambodia that you could think it is originally from there, but it actually comes from Vietnam, where it is called bò lúc lắc. Bò means “beef” and lúc lắc means “stir” or “shake”. This term evokes the movement of the diced meat in the wok. |accessdate=}}
Popularity
Shaking beef is now quite popular in the United States.{{Cite web |last=Du |first=Becca |date=9 January 2023 |title=Traditional Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac) |url=https://www.cooking-therapy.com/vietnamese-shaking-beef/ |website=Cooking Therapy |quote=Nowadays, [shaking beef]’s served all over Vietnam and is also popular in the US. |accessdate=}}
File:2016 Phnom Penh, Kambodżański Lok Lak (02).jpg
Over the years, shaking beef had also spread to neighboring Cambodia, where it is known as lok lak or loc lac ({{langx|km|ឡុកឡាក់}}), which are loanwords from Vietnamese lúc lắc.{{Cite web |last=Chorm |first=Evan |date=10 December 2018 |title=Khmer Food Terms and Etymologies |url=https://www.angkorfood.com/News/Entries/2018/12/khmer-food-terms-and-etymologies.html |website=Angkor - Cambodian Food |quote= |accessdate=}}{{Cite web |last=Palme |first=Inga |date=6 June 2024 |title=Beef Lok Lak – the Cambodian national dish |url=https://www.visit-angkor.org/blog/beef-lok-lak-cambodian-national-dish-with-recipe/ |website=Visit Angkor |quote=It is said that the name lok lak goes back to the Vietnamese bo luc lac, which means "shaking meat". |accessdate=29 November 2024}} The dish is now so widely enjoyed in Cambodia that it has come to be considered one of the country’s national dishes.{{Cite book |last=Emmerson |first=Miranda |author-link= |title=Fragrant Heart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mV2uEAAAQBAJ&dq=Cambodian+Shaking+beef&pg=PT340 |year= 2014 |publisher=Summersdale |isbn=9781783720545 |pages= |quote=The classic Khmer dish loc lac (shaking beef) derives from the Vietnamese standard thit bo luc lac, yet in Cambodia it is regarded proudly as a home-grown national dish. |accessdate=}} The initial Cambodian version of shaking beef consisted of high-quality steak cut into pieces and pan-seared in French butter, which stems from Indochina's French colonial past. Later, a simpler version influenced by Chinese culinary techniques emerged using cheaper cuts of beef and Chinese oyster sauce. The beef used in this version, which is the one generally eaten in Cambodia today, is cut into strips and not small cubes as is done in Vietnam.{{Cite magazine |last=Parkinson |first=Charles |date=1 April 2016 |title=Meet the London Chef Serving Cambodian Dishes That Escaped a Genocide |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/meet-the-london-chef-serving-cambodian-dishes-that-escaped-a-genocide/ |magazine=Vice |quote= |access-date=24 November 2020}}{{Cite web |last=Gérard |first=Sabrina |date=24 June 2018 |title=Lok Lak |url=https://www.196flavors.com/cambodia-lok-lak/ |website=196 Flavors |quote=Beef is cut into strips in Cambodia unlike in Vietnam where it is diced. |accessdate=29 November 2024}}
References
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{{Vietnam-cuisine-stub}}
{{Vietnamese cuisine}}
{{Cambodian cuisine}}