Keto Vietnamese Shaking Beef

Spice up your dinners with this shaking beef recipe. This marinated steak dish is one of the best Keto Vietnamese recipes out there because it is simple to prepare, requires a handful of easily accessible ingredients, and is super flavorful.

What is shaking beef?

Vietnam's bò lúc lắc, or shaking beef, is a dish of stir-fried cubes of marinated beef steak and sliced onions. The dish gets its name from the shaking and stirring required to achieve a golden sear. The beef is marinated in soy sauce, garlic, lime, and a sweetener. This meal is full of flavor with juicy steak cubes and soft stir-fried onions.

Is this meal gluten-free?

Generally, the meat is marinated in a mixture containing soy sauce. And since soy sauce contains fermented wheat, this dish isn't gluten-free. However, you can swap the soy sauce for tamari, a wheat-free version of soy sauce. If you are following a Paleo or Whole30 diet, you can use coconut aminos.

Which beef cut works best for this Keto Vietnamese shaking beef?

Any fast-cooking steak cut would work in this recipe, but the fattier the cut, the better. We used sirloin steak, but you can also use rib-eye, strip steak, or tenderloin. The secret to juicy steak bites is to have your skillet or wok super-hot to sear the beef in 1-2 minutes while reserving all the juices inside. If the skillet/wok isn't hot enough, the beef will release its juices, resulting in tough meat.

What to serve with this Vietnamese Keto recipe?

Traditionally, Vietnamese shaking beef is served on a bed of watercress, lettuce, tomatoes, or cucumber and served with rice. To make it Keto-friendly, you can serve this dish with Keto steamed rice or other Keto Vietnamese sides.