Vietnamese Inspired Beef Stew is one of my favorite stews. It combines fragrant spices such as ginger, lemon grass, star anise, cinnamon with a hearty beef stew. Its history is a difficult one to trace - it has French and Chinese as well as Vietnamese influences. In Vietnam, it is enjoyed all day long, for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It can be enjoyed by itself, with bread, noodles or rice. To add heat, I add Sichuan Hot Chili Oil to it as a condiment- I find the Sichuan peppercorns accentuate the flavors of this stew. This soup goes well with basil on top. It is quickly becoming a pressure cooker favorite dinner in my house after a day of hiking.
Vietnamese Inspired Beef Stew
Recipes
Vietnamese Inspired Beef Stew
This is a hearty soup that can be cooked in a pressure cooker or stove top. Fresh spices (i.e. ginger, onion, garlic, hot chili pepper, lemon grass) can be replaced with dry powdered versions if more convenient. It very much reminds me of an American Style beef stew except with a stronger spice flavor, thanks to the cinnamon, star anise and lemon grass. Great meal to warm a cool night.