Bò kho, a Vietnamese beef stew with lemongrass

Ingredients

• 500 g of beef (best with tendon)
• 3 to 4 stalks of lemongrass
• 3-star rating for badiane
• Half a piece of ginger
• 1/2 packet of spices for bò kho (packet for 1 kg)
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons of ketchup or canned tomato sauce
• a few curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon of five-spice liqueur
• 2 carrots
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• salt, pepper, powdered bouillon, sugar
• 2 tablespoons of oil paint

Peel the carrots and cut them into diagonal pieces.

Cut the ginger into two pieces and mash it.

Cut the beef into cubes of about 3 cm, with a thickness of 1 to 2 cm. Marinate it with half of the garlic, salt, half of the “bou kho” spices, pepper, sugar, powdered bouillon, five-spice alcohol, and curry leaves for 30 minutes.

Lightly grill the star anise.

Heat the oil in a pan, then sauté the remaining garlic, add the bay leaf and beef, and cook over high heat.

Transfer the meat to a pot, cover with water, add the ginger and lemongrass, and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Then add the carrots and continue to cook for 25 minutes (add more hot water if the liquid reduces too much). When the meat and carrots are tender, add the ketchup and adjust the seasoning.

Mix the flour in a bowl with some water. Once the stew has returned to a simmer, gradually add it to the sauce to thicken it, then turn off the heat.