Bo kho gung belongs to the days when the weather turns cold. The pleasure of it is the pungent ginger running through beef braised until it falls apart. The difficulty is that a long braise carries most of the ginger aroma away, leaving a rich pot with no perfume.
So the ginger is split into four parts, and the sliced and shredded portions go in only during the last 15 to 20 minutes. Before that the beef has had about 1 hour 30 minutes at a bare simmer.
This batch weighs about 940g, at roughly 170 calories per 100g.
Method
Keep the beef in one piece and rub it hard with coarse salt, white rice wine and some crushed ginger to clean it, then wash it, drain it and cut it into bite sized cubes. Do not cut it too small, as the meat shrinks during the braise.
Trim any dry parts off the ginger and divide it into four: two parts bruised and finely chopped, one part thinly sliced, one part shredded. Peel the tough outer layers off the lemongrass, bruise it and cut it into lengths. Bruise and chop the garlic, bruise the chili, and cut the ginger leaves into short pieces.
Season the beef with 2 tablespoons oyster sauce, 2 tablespoons cooking oil, 1 tablespoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1/2 tablespoon seasoning powder, 1/2 tablespoon seasoning salt, 1 tablespoon MSG and 1/2 tablespoon ground pepper, along with some of the chopped ginger and garlic. Mix well and leave it for at least 30 minutes.
Put 2 tablespoons cooking oil in a pot, fry the chopped ginger and lemongrass until fragrant, then add the beef and sear it over fairly high heat until it firms up.
Add the green peppercorns, chili and ginger leaves, stir, pour in enough water to just cover the meat and bring it to a rolling boil.
Season with 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, stir, lower the heat, cover and let it barely simmer for about 1 hour 30 minutes until the beef is tender.
Once the beef is tender, add the sliced and shredded ginger, stir and braise for another 15 to 20 minutes. Serve it hot in a deep bowl.
Tips
The sliced and shredded ginger belongs at the very end, that is what makes the ginger aroma stand out.
Cut the beef into bite sized cubes, since small pieces shrink away during the braise.
Green peppercorns go into the pot whole on the stem, since pounding them turns the liquid bitter and cloudy.
Rub the meat with coarse salt, white rice wine and pounded ginger before washing it to clear the smell.
A bare simmer for the full 1 hour 30 minutes is what makes it tender, a hard boil leaves the beef tough.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.