Bo Kho

Another one for the journal: https://thewoksoflife.com/bo-kho-spicy-vietnamese-beef-stew/

Dinner on a warm-ish Wednesday night. Simple but delicious. The best part was how quickly a decision was made!!! 

W: "What's for dinner"?

R: "I want Bo Kho."

W: "Bo Kho? What's that?? Spell it..."

R: "B-O K-H-O"

W: "Ok I have no idea what you're talking about, can you just pull it up"

R: *pulls up website*

W: "... hmm ok sounds good, 弄!

Made a few edits to the recipe based on my gut... turned out well I'd say. Though I have never had authentic Bo Kho before so it's hard to be sure what it's supposed to taste like! LOL. 

• Used 1lb of meat, 50% chuck and 50% brisket 
• Put in 1 fresh roma tomato. It was so red and beautiful, shame not to use it. Cut the tomato paste slightly. Though probably not much effect either way. 
• Substitute shallots for onion in the cooking process.
• LaoGanMa chili oil 
• Served with thick rice vermicelli (粗米粉)

After thoughts: 

• I think it could use a little more lemongrass. Would try upping it by 20-40% next time, depending on size/age/fragrance of lemongrass. 
• We didn't like basil, but addition of cilantro, mint, and raw onions were nice. 
• 1 large carrot resulted in a few pieces of carrot leftovers. There was soup leftover too, not a bad thing!