Vietnamese: Shaking Beef and Vinegared Onions ~

Oh. My. Goodness.

I have a new favorite. TWO new favorites. This was the most awesome meal EVER.

I got the recipe from Wandering Chopsticks' blog, and please click on the name to see her great photos and commentary, as well as her original recipes (click "Wandering" for the onions, "Chopsticks" for the beef dish ~ aren't I clever? LOL). Lots of times I change a little here, little there, but this time, I pretty much left things alone. :) I did double things a little, and noted it in the recipe.

So - no need for lotsa words, here goes - an easy and delish salad meal.

Hanh Dam (Vietnamese Vinegared Onions)

(doubled due to large size of the onion)

1 large onion, sliced thin and placed in a bowl

1 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

2 teaspoons white sugar

Sprinkle the sugar over the onions as they sit in the bowl; pour the vinegar over everything, then stir/toss well. Let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes, at least, tossing and mixing frequently and making sure the onions stay covered by the vinegar. Enjoy! Store the remainder covered in the fridge.

Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef)

(marinade doubled according to amount of meat)

1 1/2 pounds beef (or venison round steak, which is what I used), cubed small

4 teaspoons fish sauce

2 teaspoons salt (next time, I'll reduce this to 1 1/2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

Mix fish sauce, salt, pepper, and sugar, and pour over meat cubes, mixing well. Sit aside to marinate at room temperature while you prepare the rest of the dish. I actually let the meat marinate while I went to the store, so it was very well marinated for about an hour.

To cook, mince a couple of garlic cloves and stir fry briefly in a little hot oil in a wok or skillet. Add the beef, reserving any juice you may have for later. Cook the meat, without stirring very much, so it will char a bit. When I did this, at first the beef released a lot of liquid and I was wondering if it would ever char. I turned the heat up a bit higher and in a few minutes, the liquid cooked down and the meat started charring satisfactorily. When it's done like you want it, add any remaining meat/marinade juices and cook for a minute more.

1 bunch greens of your choice (I used spinach leaves)

1 or 2 large tomatoes, sliced into bite size chunks

Hanh Dam (vinegared onions)

Place washed greens in a 'wreath' on a plate, and top with sliced tomatoes. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, place some onions in the center. Grind a little salt and pepper over the whole thing, and drizzle a little of the onion vinegar over the spinach and tomatoes. Top the whole salad with some of the warm shaking beef, and dig in.

Simply amazing. My new favorite.