Tit Bò Lúc Lāc, Shaken Seal with Watercress Salad

Tit Bò Lúc Lāc, Shaking Beef is a Vietnamese special occasion dish. Tit Bò means beef, and Lúc Lāc references how the sliced steak is cooked quickly in a hot pan, shaken back and forth. I've adapted it to work with a seal roast in this recipe, gifted by Tsimshian Scholar Spencer Greening.

Read more about seal hunting and cooking here: Hunting and Cooking Seal From The Perspective of a Tsimshian Scholar, Spencer Greening.

Every Vietnamese family has its own variation of the recipe. Tender cubbed meat served sizzling hot over a bed of watercress salad is the foundation of the dish. Admittedly every time I make this meal, I cook instinctively, and it always ends up a little different. The recipe below is an adaptation of well-known (and my favorite) Vietnamese Food Writer and Chef Andrea Nguyen and a local restaurant called Phnom Penh. I loved Andrea's balance in flavors, while my local neighborhood joint had this amazing gravy-like sauce that went with thinly sliced beef. Therefore I'm encouraging you to use this procedure to guide, experiment, and add your own adaptations.

Beef or Seal, make sure it’s tender!

Beef or seal, ensure your meat of choice is tender when cooked quickly and can be eaten medium-well. The flavors in this dish tend to work better with darker meats; this includes game birds such as duck breast.

Have everything prepped because it comes together quickly, and it's meant to be eaten right away. I highly recommend you served it with a steaming bowl of jasmine rice because rice is life. Fun fact, I have a rice bowl tattooed on my left leg.

I love to spoon the sauce over the rice and mix everything up. Traditionally special occasion meals like Tit Bò Lúc Lāc are always served with a crisp lager.

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Vietnamese Shaken Seal With Watercress Salad

Yield: 4

Author: Jenny Ly

Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 10 MinInactive time: 30 MinTotal time: 55 Min

Ingredients

Marinade for Meat

• 2 pounds of seal meat, cut into 1.5-inch squares
• 1 tablespoon dark soy 
• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 grated garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 tablespoon butter

Salad and Dressing

• 4 cups of watercress
• 1 Roma tomato sliced
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced shallot
• 2 tablespoons Vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Water
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. If you're having the dish with rice, cook it first! This dish comes together quickly.
2. In a large bowl mix together the 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon corn start, 1 teaspoon black pepper, 2 grated garlic cloves, 2 tablespoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon fish sauce. Add the meat into the bowl and mix. Let the meat marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. Make the salad while the meat is marinating. In a large bowl whisk together vinegar, 1 teaspoon sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. In the same bowl add red onion, watercress, and tomato. Do not toss the salad until you're about to cook the meat.
4. Get a large pan hot. Add 2 tablespoons of oil and let the oil get simmering hot. Work in batches to sear the meat and not overcrowd the pan. Use tongs to pick up the meat, shake off access marinade, and lay the meat down in one layer. Here comes the shaking part! Give it about a minute between moments of shaking the pan to allow time to sear the meat evenly on each side. Don't be shy with the oil.
5. Once all the meat is cooked close to medium-well, add back all the meat, excess marinate, and 1 tablespoon of butter into the pan to form a sauce. If your pan is super dry or burning, add 1-2 tablespoons of water to loosen things up. Each cube of meat should be coated in a glossy gravy.
6. Find a large plate and spread the salad on it in an even layer. Pour the meat and sauce over the plate of watercress salad. Enjoy right away with hot jasmine rice!

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Happy cooking!

Jenny