1 Stalk fresh lemon grass or 1 tb Dried Lemon Grass Sprinkling of freshly -ground black pepper 2 ts Fish sauce (nuoc mam) 1 Clove garlic, chopped 6 oz Fatty beef chuck, sliced -paper thin 1 t Vegetable oil 2 Shallots or white part of 2 -scallions, sliced 3 c Water 1 1/2 Beef bouillon cubes 1 t Salt 1 tb Fresh coriander (Chinese -parsley), chopped 2 Scallions, green part only, -chopped Here s a pretty simple Vietnamese beef soup recipe in contrast to the recipe for Hanoi Beef Soup. It doesn t call for hot chilies, but you can slice a couple into thin rounds and toss em in. That s kosher (if that term can apply...) with any Vietnamese soup. Add em either when the soup is brought to it s final boil or just after it s removed from the heat. If you are using fresh lemon grass, simply remove the outer leaves and upper two-thirds of the stalk, then chop. If you are using dried, it must be soaked for 2 hours, then drained and chopped fine. Sprinkle the black pepper, 1 teaspoon of the fish sauce, and chopped garlic over the meat; mix well and allow the meat to absorb the flavors for a few minutes. Heat the oil and fry the shallots over a high flame. Add the lemon grass and fry for about 1 minute, then add the meat. Cook until all traces of redness are gone. Add the water, bring to a boil, and add the beef bouillon cubes, remaining 1 teaspoon fish sauce, and salt. Immediately before serving, bring the soup to a boil. Pour into bowls and sprinkle with the chopped coriander and scallion. From The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam , Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman, Barron s, 1979. Posted by Stephen Ceideburg August 28 1990.
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