A small cast iron skillet above a white and red checkered towel, on a white marble background. Inside the skillet there is some sautéed beef and onion, a sunny-side-up fried egg, and a rectangular piece of pâté. In the background there is also some sliced baguette and sliced tomato.

Mai

I’d bet on this dish coming out on top in a brunch competition- this over avocado toast any day.

Bò né is a hearty dish often eaten for breakfast, as it’s pretty high in calories and keeps you full for long morning of work. It originated from the coastal city of Phan Thiết, in the southeast of Vietnam. Bò means beef, but there are several theories regarding the second word in the name of this dish. The most widely accepted one is that “né” here means “to dodge” because the dish is served of sizzling hot cast iron pans and therefore you have to “dodge” the splattering oil.

In Vietnam, bò né is more commonly served by places specializing this dish, rather than general Vietnamese restaurants or at home. This dish is a bit of a choose your own adventure. Other than the main star of the show, which is the beef, you can usually build your own combination by choosing amongst various components offered by the vendor. Common options include: a sunny side up egg, pâté, sausage, xíu mại- i.e. Vietnamese meatballs, a wedge of phô mai con bò cười- laughing cow cheese, and canned sardines in tomato sauce. My personal favorite combination is beef, egg, and pâté.

Some places may offer the option of serving bò né with fries, but the most common and best way is with a shatteringly crusty bánh mì ổ – vietnamese baguette. If you’re making this outside of Vietnam, you can use a French baguette or another crusty bread of your choice. I advice against sandwich bread.

For this dish, it is best to make each serving in its individual skillet for ease of serving. I find that these 20cm/8-inch pans are the best size. Cast iron is preferred, as it keeps the dish warm longer while you’re eating, but stainless steel or another type will work as well. If you don’t have small pans, you can make up to 2 servings in a larger pan- but I wouldn’t recommend more than that.

A cast iron skillet containing some sautéed beef and onion, a sunny-side-up fried egg, and a rectangular piece of pâté. In the background there is also some sliced baguette and sliced tomato.

INGREDIENTS FOR BÒ NÉ

Beef – Thịt bò: A lean cut of beef is preferred for this dish, since the combination of all the components already create a rich dish- we do not need the extra fattiness from the beef. As we’re cutting the beef very thin, an expensive & tender cut is not necessary. I use the heel of round, which is a relatively cheap cut and it worked perfectly.
Toppings: This recipe is for my favorite combination: beef, pâté, and egg. If you want to add to or replace the pâté and/or egg, other common toppings include: sausage, xíu mại (Vietnamese meatballs), laughing cow cheese, and canned sardines in tomato sauce.
- Pâté – Patê
- Eggs – Trứng gà
Garlic – Tỏi
White granulated sugar – Đường cát trắng
Fish sauce – Nước mắm: arguably the most important seasoning sauce in Vietnamese cuisine. Made from fermented anchovies, it is salty and incredibly umami. Non-vegan Vietnamese recipes without fish sauce are very rare. The best nước mắm comes from Phú Quốc or surrounding islands off the coast- Southwest of mainland Vietnam. Our favorite brand available outside of Vietnam is Red Boat (U.S.).
Soy sauce – Nước tương/xì dầu
Chili sauce – Tương ớt: I use sriracha
Oyster sauce – Dầu hào
Sesame oil – Dầu mè
Ground black pepper – Tiêu đen xay
White onion – Hành tây trắng
Tomato – Cà chua
Bread – Bánh mì: the best option is, of course, a shatteringly crusty bánh mì ổ – i.e. vietnamese baguette. If you’re making this outside of Vietnam, you can use a French baguette or another crusty bread of your choice. I advice against sandwich bread.
Vegetable oil – Dầu thực vật
Salt – Muối

DIRECTIONS FOR BÒ NÉ

Thinly slice beef and add to a bowl.
Peel and add shallot and garlic to a mortar, along with water and crush well with the pestle.
NOTE: Alternatively, you can use a food processor.
Gather the crushed shallot and garlic in one of your hands and squeeze as much of the liquid as you can over the sliced beef.
To the beef, add all the remaining marinade ingredients and mix well to coat.
Cover and let beef marinate for at least 30 minutes.
In the meantime, thinly slice white onion pole-to-pole.
Slice tomato(es) for serving, if using.
Slice baguette into 5-7cm lengths.
When the beef has finished marinating, heat oil in a cast iron skillet.
NOTE: if you’re making several servings individually, heat up your multiple skillets at the same time, and divide up the sliced white onion and beef evenly.
Add sliced onion to the pan and sweat them until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add in the beef and sauté until about half has turned brown.
Crack in your egg(s) and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
When the egg white is about halfway cooked, add in pâté and any other topping(s) of your choice.
Remove from heat just a bit before the egg white is fully set. The egg will continue cooking with the residual heat of the skillet.
Serve immediately with baguette and sliced tomato.

RECIPE VIDEO

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