• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Bun Bo Bae

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Life
    • Travel
    • Reviews
  • Contact
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • About
  • Recipe Index
  • Life
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Crock Pot Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bò Kho)

    Crock Pot Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bò Kho)

    Published: Feb 25, 2020 Modified: Jun 24, 2020 by Suzanne Nuyen This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads

    Tweet
    Share
    Pin1K
    Share69
    1K Shares
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    blue and white bowl filled with noodles, stew with beef and carrots. A pair of chopsticks is sticking into the noodles

    Vietnamese beef stew, or bò kho, is a fragrantly spiced version of a familiar dish. It can be served with rice, a fresh baguette or noodles (my favorite method of eating them) and makes for a really easy and warming Vietnamese noodle soup dish.

    Traditionally this stew is slow-simmered on the stove until the beef is fork tender. I like to cook this in a crockpot for an easy, hands-off approach. However, I still brown the meat on the stove to lock in the flavor before slow cooking. I find that if you just dump everything in a slow cooker first the stew comes out a little flat tasting. I'll include instructions for stove top cooking if you don't have a slow cooker.

    blue and white bowl filled with noodles, stew with beef and carrots. A pair of chopsticks is sticking into the noodles

    Beef choices for bò kho

    Slab of beef rough flank on a wooden board

    My all time favorite cut of beef for this dish is beef rough flank or beef outside flank. It's an extremely tough cut of meat with tons of silver skin and tendon. Since this dish is slow simmered/cooked in a slow cooker, all that sinew will become tender and provide a delicious textural contrast to the fall apart beef.

    If you can't find rough flank or you don't like tendon, feel free to use stew meat or chuck in its place. You will need to adjust the amount of time you cook the stew for, however. Stew meat/chuck will cook faster than this flank. I highly recommend you try the rough flank!

    Crock pot Vietnamese beef stew (bò kho): Step-by-step instructions

    hand holding rectangular bouillon bos that says bo kho

    You will need some bò kho bouillon for the beef marinade. My favorite brand is Bao Long, seen below. You can get this at any Asian grocery store or on Amazon!

    white bowl with chunks of beef, marinade mix, lemongrass, garlic and shallot

    Dissolve a packet of this bouillon in some water and add it to your chopped beef pieces along with garlic, shallot, salt, pepper, fish sauce and ground lemongrass. You can grind your own lemongrass in a food processor or buy it frozen from an Asian grocery store. Let the meat marinate for at least least half an hour or up to 24 hours.

    green dutch oven with beef cubes and tomato paste. A red spatula is pushing the meat around

    When you're ready to cook the bò kho, add all of the beef and marinade into a heavy bottomed pot on high heat and sear. Add tomato paste to the beef at this point and cook until the liquid has reduced.

    Once the liquid has reduced, add your meat cubes to your slow cooker and add just enough water to submerge the beef. You don't want the stew to be too watery.

    red crock pot with bo kho (vietnamese beef stew) in it.

    Cook the stew on high for 4-6 hours until the beef is fork tender. Add peeled and chopped carrots during the last half hour of cooking.

    Blue and

    I like to eat this with pho noodles. The starchy noodles thicken the broth and make it even more rich and stew-like. If we don't have noodles, my family will also dip fresh baguette into the broth.

    Cooking bò kho on the stove top

    If you don't have a slow cooker or prefer to cook this on the stove, follow all of the same steps up until you transfer the meat into the slow cooker. Add water directly into the pan instead and bring it to a boil before reducing to a light simmer.

    You'll need to add more water as

    blue and white bowl filled with noodles, stew with beef and carrots. A pair of chopsticks is sticking into the noodles
    Print Pin
    4.72 from 7 votes

    Crock Pot Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bò Kho)

    This Vietnamese beef stew gets a fragrant kick with tons of lemongrass. It tastes great on its own, with rice, noodles or a baguette.
    Course Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine Asian, Vietnamese
    Keyword Beef, Noodles
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 6 hours
    Marinating time 30 minutes
    Total Time 6 hours 50 minutes
    Calories 316kcal
    Author Suzanne Nuyen

    Ingredients

    • 1.5 lbs beef rough flank or beef chuck/stew meat, cubed
    • 3 tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass
    • ½ tablespoon fish sauce
    • ½ tsp salt
    • 1 tsp ground black pepper
    • 3 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 small shallot, minced
    • 1 package bo kho bouillon, dissolved into a paste with a about 1 tablespoon of water
    • 1 tablespoon neutral oil
    • 2 tablespoon tomato paste
    • 3 cups water
    • 4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1 inch segments

    Instructions

    • Mix beef with lemongrass, fish sauce, salt, black pepper, garlic, shallot and bouillon. Let marinate for at least 30 min or overnight up to 24 hours
    • Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pot on medium high heat. Add beef (along with the marinade) and brown.
    • Add tomato paste and continue to cook beef until liquid has reduced.
    • Transfer beef to slow cooker and add just enough water to cover the beef (for me, this was three cups)
    • Cook on high heat for 4-6 hours until beef is tender. This will take longer if you're using rough flank and shorter for other cuts of beef.
    • During the last 30 minutes of cooking, add chopped carrots
    • Serve with rice, bread or noodles

    Notes

    If you'd like to cook this on the stove instead of the slow cooker, add water directly to the pot instead of transferring the beef. Bring everything up to a boil and lower heat until liquid is at a bare simmer. Simmer for 6-8 hours until beef is tender. Add carrots during the last 20 minutes of cooking.
    **Calorie count does not include noodles, rice or bread**

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 316kcal | Carbohydrates: 14.6g | Protein: 26.2g | Fat: 20.4g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.1g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 1644.6mg | Potassium: 269.7mg | Fiber: 2.9g | Sugar: 10.8g | Vitamin C: 12.42mg | Calcium: 200mg | Iron: 0.16mg
    Nutrition Facts
    Crock Pot Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bò Kho)
    Amount Per Serving (1 bowl)
    Calories 316 Calories from Fat 184
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 20.4g31%
    Saturated Fat 0.4g3%
    Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g
    Monounsaturated Fat 2.1g
    Cholesterol 24mg8%
    Sodium 1644.6mg72%
    Potassium 269.7mg8%
    Carbohydrates 14.6g5%
    Fiber 2.9g12%
    Sugar 10.8g12%
    Protein 26.2g52%
    Vitamin C 12.42mg15%
    Calcium 200mg20%
    Iron 0.16mg1%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Did you make this recipe? Tag @bun.bobae on instagram and hashtag it #bunbobae!


    Don’t miss a single recipe! Sign up below for recipes in your inbox:

    Loved this Recipe? You might also like:

    Vietnamese Ground Pork in Tomato Sauce (Thịt Băm Sốt Cà Chua) with rice, lettuce and noodles
    Vietnamese Ground Pork in Tomato Sauce (Thịt Băm Sốt Cà Chua)
    Vietnamese Fish Sauce Glazed Chicken Wings (Cánh Gà Chiên Nước Mắm)
    Tweet
    Share
    Pin1K
    Share69
    1K Shares
    « Vietnamese Chicken and Bean Stew (Gà Nấu Đậu)
    Crispy Tofu Bowls with Peanut Sauce »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Joe

      August 02, 2021 at 8:53 am

      Do you scrape all the marinade from the pot or just pick out the beef when you transfer to the slow cooker?

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        August 02, 2021 at 9:05 am

        Hi Joe! I scrape all of the marinade. That’s what’s going to flavor the broth!

        Reply
    2. Anonymous

      June 20, 2021 at 6:51 am

      Hi,
      I remember my mum toasting star anise and then grinding it up and using that to marinade - can’t really remember what else she put in, but anise was the most dominant flavour. Anyway, have you tried doing it that way?
      Thanks,
      Thanh

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        June 20, 2021 at 7:01 am

        Hi Thanh,

        Star anise should already be in the bouillon. You can always toast and grind up extra anise if you enjoy that flavor, or purchase a dry spice blend to add to the marinade along with the bouillon!

        Best,
        Suzanne

        Reply
    3. Christina

      September 10, 2020 at 2:09 pm

      What size is your crockpot? Mine is 6 qt

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        September 10, 2020 at 6:15 pm

        Hi Christina! Mine is 4 qts but you can still make this in a bigger crock pot.

        Reply
    4. Liah

      April 18, 2020 at 2:20 am

      Hi Suzanne! I’m curious to know how many cubes of buillon do I use?

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        April 19, 2020 at 1:15 pm

        Hi Liah! One pack of bouillon has four cubes in it, and I use all four for that amount of beef. You can easily double or halve it to your liking, but I recommend starting out with that amount first to see how you like it!.

        Reply
    5. Trang Vu

      March 31, 2020 at 1:00 pm

      Hi! I don't think I saw approximately how many potions this recipe will yield? I'm thinking of making a big batch and freezing so just wanted to know for measuring ingredients. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        March 31, 2020 at 1:16 pm

        Hi Trang! This recipe will make about 4-6 bowls depending on how big of an appetite you have! I'll edit the recipe to reflect serving sizes. You can definitely easily double this up and freeze it.

        Reply
    6. Jack S

      February 25, 2020 at 11:11 am

      5 stars
      This stew is excellent, especially on a colder winter day when you have plans to binge watch TV or read a long book. I'd recommend you cook it in large portions so you're not disappointed when it's gone too quickly.

      Reply
      • Suzanne Nuyen

        February 25, 2020 at 12:05 pm

        Thanks for being a great taste tester! This recipe can be easily scaled up or down depending on how much you want to make, and it also freezes extremely well!

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi! I'm Suzanne, your Bun Bo Bae. I'm a journalist, professional amateur baker, noodle enthusiast and food photographer living in Washington, DC. My immigrant parents taught me everything I know about Vietnamese home cooking, and now I want to share it with you!

    More about me →

    Newest Recipes

    • Taiwanese Popcorn Chicken (Gà Chiên Lá Quế Đài Loan)
    • Vietnamese Red Rice (Cơm Đỏ)
    • Vietnamese Shaking Beef (Bò Lúc Lắc)
    • Vietnamese Shrimp Toast (Bánh Mì Nướng Tôm)

    Sign up for my newsletter here!

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Accessibility
    • Contact
    • Media Kit

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    As Seen On

    Copyright © 2019 - 2020 Bun Bo Bae

    Copyright © 2023 Bun Bo Bae on the Foodie Pro Theme