Seared beef cubes with soft onion slices on a bed of watercress, ringed by tomato wedges and cucumber slices on a white plate. — Photo: Nick Nguyen · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Vietnamese · Lunch · Dinner

Vietnamese Shaking Beef

Name: Vietnamese Shaking Beef
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 65 min
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1 cup brown rice; 2 1/2 cups water (for rice); 600 g lean beef sirloin, trimmed and cut into 2.5 cm cubes; 6 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce; 1 tsp fish sauce; 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar; 1 tsp cornstarch; 1 1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground; 4 tsp vegetable oil; 1 medium red onion, cut into wedges; 1 large red bell pepper, cut into squares; 4 cups watercress; 1 1/3 cups cherry tomatoes, halved; 1 tbsp rice vinegar; 2 limes (about 1/4 cup) lime juice; 1/4 tsp salt

Bò lúc lắc

By BerryFit Kitchen · Nutrition checked with USDA data · Updated Oct 11, 2026 · How we make recipes

Juicy cubes of lean sirloin seared hard with garlic and a savoury glaze, tossed with sweet onion and bell pepper, then piled over peppery watercress and tomatoes. Served with nutty brown rice and a zingy lime, salt and pepper dip.

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 45 min
Total: 65 min
Serves: 4

Medium
Dairy Free
High protein

24%

Per serving477kcal24% of a 2,000 kcal day

40gProtein

51gCarbs

13gFat

4gFiber

Calories come from: Carbs 43% · Fat 24% · Protein 33%

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Ingredients

For 4 servings

1 cup190 gbrown rice
2 1/2 cups590 gwater (for rice)
600 glean beef sirloin, trimmed and cut into 2.5 cm cubes
6 cloves18 ggarlic, minced
2 tbsp36 goyster sauce
1 tbsp16 greduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp6 gfish sauce
1 1/2 tsp6 gbrown sugar
1 tspcornstarch
1 1/2 tspblack pepper, freshly ground
4 tsp18 gvegetable oil
1 medium150 gred onion, cut into wedges
1 large150 gred bell pepper, cut into squares
4 cups140 gwatercress
1 1/3 cups200 gcherry tomatoes, halved
1 tbsp15 grice vinegar
2 limes (about 1/4 cup)60 glime juice
1/4 tspsalt

Steps

1
Rinse the brown rice, then add it to a pot with the 2 1/2 cups of water.
2
Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 40 minutes until tender; rest covered off the heat for 5 minutes.
3
Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix half the garlic with the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, 1 tsp of the brown sugar, the cornstarch and 1/2 tsp of the black pepper.
4
Toss the beef cubes in the marinade and leave for 15 minutes.
5
In a large serving bowl, stir the rice vinegar with the remaining 1/2 tsp brown sugar, add the watercress and tomatoes, and toss lightly.
6
For the dip, stir the lime juice with the salt and the remaining 1 tsp black pepper in a small dish.
7
Heat 1 tsp of the oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat and stir-fry the onion and bell pepper for 2 minutes until just softened; set aside.
8
Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat until it shimmers.
9
Add the beef in a single layer (work in two batches if needed) and sear undisturbed for 1 minute.
10
Shake the pan to turn the cubes and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, until browned outside and at least 63 °C / 145 °F inside.
11
Add the remaining garlic, then return the onion and pepper to the pan and toss for 30 seconds.
12
Spoon the beef and vegetables over the watercress salad and serve with the brown rice and lime dip on the side.

Swaps, storage and make-ahead

Swaps

Use firm tofu cubes, pressed and patted dry, instead of beef, along with a mushroom-based vegetarian oyster sauce and soy sauce in place of fish sauce, for a vegan version.
Swap the soy sauce for tamari, use an oyster sauce labelled gluten-free, and check that your fish sauce is labelled gluten-free too, for a gluten-free meal.
Use baby spinach or arugula if you can't find watercress.
Serve over cauliflower rice or quick-cooking white rice instead of brown rice for a lighter or faster side.

Storage

Refrigerate the beef in an airtight container within 2 hours and eat within 3 to 4 days, reheating until steaming hot. Cool the rice quickly, refrigerate it within 1 hour, eat it within 1 day, and reheat it only once until steaming hot. The dressed watercress salad wilts quickly and is best eaten fresh, so don't save or freeze it.

Make ahead

Cook the brown rice, cool it quickly and refrigerate it within 1 hour. Mix the marinade and lime dip, and cut the beef, onion and pepper up to a day ahead, keeping each covered in the fridge. Marinate the beef for 15 minutes and dress the salad just before cooking.

Nutrition values are for the recipe as written.

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Allergens and nutrition

Contains: GlutenSoyFishMolluscs

Check the labels of packaged ingredients for allergens and suitability for your diet.

Full nutrition

	Per serving (551 g)	Per 100 g
Calories	477 kcal	87 kcal
Protein	39.8 g	7.2 g
Carbohydrates	51.1 g	9.3 g
of which sugars	6.7 g	1.2 g
Fiber	4.3 g	0.8 g
Fat	12.5 g	2.3 g
of which saturated	3 g	0.5 g
Sodium	767 mg	139 mg

Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central data and may differ from what you cook.