October : Bo Kho

Summer is finally gone- so long sucker! Cause I hate you! Get the f*** out of here! Fall is here and we are experiencing beautiful fall weather! Leaves are changing colors (if not already brown and dead) and it's cold enough to throw on booties and a Patagonia! (lol at Leah for our love of Patagonia).

So what does cold weather mean? It means time for soups and stews! And the perfect stew to make for the month of October (also Vietnamese) is Bho Kho! Which literally means beef stew. Also.. I cheated by buying a bo kho bouillon oppose  to the separate spices because aint nobody got time for that.. I work about 9 hours days- I'm tired.. soooo cheating it shall be. I honestly didn't know how this would turn out but the broth turned out great! Few things I would have done differently.. cooked it longer because the beef was not tender to my liking and to dilute it with water at the end- it became too concentrated.

Things you'll need:

- Bo kho bouillon (can be found in your Asian markets)

- Beef (cubed)

- Carrots

- Potatoes

- Garlic

- Yellow onion

- Cilantro

- Green onions

- Agua (aka water.. aka H2 the O)

- Vietnamese French bread (can be found in a Vietnamese market - this bread is much softer than a traditional French bread)

- Salt (to taste - if needed)

- Ground black pepper (optional)

Pretty easy for the most part. Dissolve the bouillon with 1/4 of warm water and marinate your cubed beef with minced garlic for 30+ minutes. Then sear the meat really quick and toss it in a pot along with the bouillon marinade and more water (measurement? I just eyeballed it). Cook it at a low to medium heat for 2-3 hours (covered) and then add your cubed potatoes and roughly chopped carrots for another hour and boom! Bo friggin kho. Dash some ground pepper if you want- you do you!

Thinly slice your yellow onion as well as your green onion and mix it with your roughly chopped cilantro. This will be your topping on your bo kho - reference the photo. You can eat this with rice, noodles, or your Vietnamese French bread. I recommend the bread - it's more common and tasty.

Cheers!