Bò kho is a dish of

South Vietnamese South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

origin using the kho cooking method, it is a spicy dish made commonly with beef which is known throughout the country and beyond. In rural areas, the dish is described as being "extremely fiery."Judy Gelman, Vicki Levy Krupp Table of Contents: From Breakfast with Anita Diamant to Dessert... 2010 Page 245"Bò Kho. Makes 4–6 servings Adapted from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen (Ten Speed Press, 2006) My first... Bò Kho is a quintessential example of what we now call fusion cuisine." There are variants of the dish that is made with chicken, known as ''gà kho'', or ''gà kho gừng'' (gừng meaning "ginger") and also made with fish, known as ''cá kho''.

Origin

The taste of the dish is not in the typical Vietnamese style and is more reminiscent of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

Malaysian cuisine Malaysian cuisine consists of cooking traditions and practices found in Malaysia, and reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. The vast majority of Malaysia's population can roughly be divided among three major ethnic groups: Mala ...

. The wide distribution of beef and slow-cooked stews in Vietnam are thanks to

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

culinary influence during colonial times, so the modern dish is considered to have a mixed origin.

Cooking

Мodern Vietnamese cooks cook bò kho using metal saucepans, but originally it was made by simmering the broth in clay pots. The ingredients of the dish can vary widely. The typical ingredients of the dish are

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

lemongrass ''Cymbopogon'', also known as lemongrass, barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family. Some ...

, and

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

. Some other ingredients that can be used are

tomatoes The tomato is the edible Berry (botany), berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to th ...

, applesauce, and

star anise ''Illicium verum'' is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to northeast Vietnam and southwest China. A spice commonly called star anise, staranise, star anise seed, star aniseed, star of anise, Chinese star anise, or badian that closely resembl ...

, and galangal. The ingredients are first marinated with some Vietnamese spices and sauces (

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

, chili, Vietnamese-style fish sauce). An off-the-shelf ''bò kho powder'' is also available. Then, the dish should be slowly stewed until cooked. It is usually served with

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...

rice noodles Rice noodles, or simply rice noodle, are noodles made with rice flour and water as the principal ingredients. Sometimes ingredients such as tapioca or corn starch are added in order to improve the transparency or increase the gelatinous and che ...

, or bánh mì, and herbs (examples include Thai basil, and

cilantro Coriander (;

Gallery

Bò kho hầm lagu cà ri.jpg, Bò kho combined with ragout and

curry A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included. There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...

Bo_kho_mien_Bac.jpg, Bò kho Bánh mỳ và bò kho (bò Phú Yên) ở Nguyễn Nhữ Lãm, Tân Phú năm 2015 (3).jpg, Bò kho served with bánh mì Hủ tiếu bò kho.jpg,

Hủ tiếu or is a dish eaten in Vietnam as breakfast. It may be served either as a soup () or dry with no broth (). became popular in the 1960s in Southern Vietnam, especially in Saigon. The primary ingredients of this dish are pork bones, mixed wit ...

bò kho Bo kho.jpg, A bowl of Bò kho Bo-Kho-2011.jpg, Bò kho with carrots, radishes, beef intestines and

mì ''Mì'' or ''mi'' is a Vietnamese term for yellow wheat noodles. It can also refer to egg noodles. They were brought over to Vietnam as wonton noodles by Chinese immigrants. The Vietnamese version of wonton noodles is ''mì hoành thánh''. The n ...

Bò kho nấu tiêu đường Nguyễn Sơn ngày 08 tháng 3 năm 2020 (5).jpg, Bò kho served with

instant noodles Instant noodles, or instant ramen, is a type of food consisting of noodles sold in a precooked and dried block with flavoring powder and/or seasoning oil. The dried noodle block was originally created by flash frying cooked noodles, and this is ...

References

{{Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese cuisine Stews Salted foods Vietnamese beef dishes

Origin

Cooking

Gallery

See also

References