Shaking beef

Alternative names	Bo luc lac
Place of origin	Vietnam
Region or state	Southeast Asia
Associated cuisine	Vietnamese and Cambodian
Serving temperature	Hot
Main ingredients	Beef, cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pepper, soy sauce, fish sauce, and oyster sauce.
Food energy (per 240 serving)	655 kcal (2742 kJ)[1]
Nutritional value (per 240 serving)	Protein 39 g Fat 52 g Carbohydrate 6.4 g
Similar dishes	Lomo saltado
Media: Shaking beef

Shaking beef or bo luc lac (Vietnamese: bò lúc lắc, French: 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.^[2][3][4]

The dish originated from the sidewalk eateries of Saigon.^[5]

In the Vietnamese language, bò means "beef" and lúc lắc means "shaken" or “shaking”.^[6][7] Thus, lúc lắc could refer to 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.^[8] Alternatively, it can be in reference to the movement of the beef cubes themselves. These diced pieces of meat are basically shaking (moving back and forth) as they are tossed about in the wok.^[9]

The word lúc lắc can also be connected to how the small pieces of beef resemble playing dice, which are called hột lúc lắc in Vietnamese.^{[10][11] [12]}

The reason why the beef is cut into smaller cubed pieces resembling dice is because the use of chopsticks in the eastern Asia culture of the Vietnamese, being better suited for picking and eating smaller sizes rather than larger strip pieces.^[13][14]

The dish is also popular in United States, where it got the name "shaking beef", a calque of the original Vietnamese name.^[15]

From Vietnam shaking beef has also spread to neighboring Cambodia, where the dish is known as lok lak or loc lac (Khmer: ឡុកឡាក់) and is often considered a national dish.^[9][16] The Khmer name lok lak is also a loanword from Vietnamese lúc lắc.^[17][18] The initial Cambodian version consisted of high-quality steak cut into cubes and pan-seared in French butter, which stems from Indochina's French colonial past. Later, a more simplified version influenced by Chinese culinary techniques emerged using cheaper cuts of beef and Chinese oyster sauce. This is the version generally eaten in Cambodia today.^[19] Unlike in Vietnam, the beef is cut into strips in Cambodia.^[20]

This article about Vietnamese cuisine is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e