Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef encompasses all that we love about Vietnamese food! Shredded beef tossed in a lemongrass sauce then pan fried until golden, it’s savoury, sweet and garlicky. But let’s be honest. It’s those crispy golden bits that we go bonkers over!
This is a quick recipe that evolved to use up leftover cooked beef, such as after making stock. So I’ve used repurposed beef here but don’t worry, it can be made from scratch too!
Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef
Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef is a recipe that was born as a way to use up leftover cooked brisket used to make the broth for Pho soup. Leading up to publishing the recipe, I made it quite a few times and found myself with an alarming stockpile of cooked brisket in my freezer.
Very easy to give away Pho take-home packs.
Not so easy to give away “really tender cooked brisket, like, totally shreddable! But it doesn’t have much flavour cause it’s been sucked out into the broth.”
Doesn’t sound very appetising does it?! 😂
So what do we do? We just inject a ton of Vietnamese flavours, then give it an extra wow factor by pan frying to get all those crispy golden bits!
Don’t worry if you happen not to have leftover cooked beef in your fridge. It’s VERY simple to make this from scratch.
Type of leftover cooked beef to use
This Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef recipe is ideal to use with leftover beef picked off meaty bones when making broth, or large pieces of meat like brisket used in Pho or similar where the beef meat has been simmered for hours so the beef flavour leaches into the broth.
It can also be made with any type of cooked beef – it doesn’t even need to be shreddable – as long as it’s relatively neutral OR Asian flavoured so the Lemongrass Sauce flavour doesn’t clash.
The idea with this recipe is to repurpose beef scraps after making stock and to transform it into something amazing!
What to do if you don’t have leftover cooked beef
Just simmer raw brisket or chuck for 2.5 – 3 hours with a few basic flavourings (onion, garlic) until it’s shreddable. We don’t need to add flavour to the beef when braising because the Lemongrass Marinade does that job. But by adding some basic flavour into the braising liquid, you will be able to use that broth for another purpose (anything that calls for beef broth!).
Vietnamese Lemongrass Marinade
The flavour added to the beef is my “go-to” Vietnamese marinade recipe. I use it to marinate whole pieces of chicken (thigh, breast, wings, drumsticks) which I serve as is, or make Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Bowls. I marinate and grill or bake chicken wings, pork chops, tofu (yes really!), or prawns/shrimp (try this Vietnamese Shrimp Salad).
It’s a secret weapon marinade because of its versatility and how simple it is – just a mix of:
-
lemongrass – finely chopped fresh OR lazy paste
-
garlic – plenty!
-
sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and lime – for classic Asian sweet/savoury/sour flavour balance
If you serve it hot off the stove then I think you’ll find you need nothing more than perhaps a quick squeeze of lime to finish it off, and a big dollop of chilli sauce or paste wouldn’t go astray either.
However! If you want to really go all out, make up some Nuoc Cham, the chilli-garlic-fish sauce-lime sauce that is served with everything in Vietnam. And that’s no exaggeration! There’s tons of variations, from lighter flavours so it’s used almost like a soup such as with Bun Cha (Vietnamese Meatballs), in my Vietnamese Chicken Salad to stronger sauces used for dipping Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls.
Use the Nuoc Cham dipping sauce in this Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken recipe, it’s the version best suited for this Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef.
If you make this Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef to use up the beef after making Pho, you’ll love how the toppings and sides are basically the same ingredients! Lime wedges, a big pile of bean sprouts, fresh herbs (coriander/cilantro is ideal, Thai basil also fantastic, mint also great – or a combo of these).
A little fresh chilli if you can handle the heat and for some extra bedazzle, a little sprinkle of peanuts.
Boom.
Hard to believe this bowl of amazingness is made with scrappy leftover beef from making stock, isn’t it?? ☺️ – Nagi x
PS I’ve made this using leftover chicken too, such as after making homemade Chicken Noodle Soup from Scratch. It’s really terrific! Just use a touch extra oil.
Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef
Watch how to make it
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Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef
Ingredients
- 500g / 1lb (3 cups) leftover cooked brisket or other beef , shredded or chopped (Note 1)
- 1 - 2 tbsp oil , for cooking
Marinade:
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce , light or all purpose
- 2.5 tbsp (packed) brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp lemongrass paste (Note 2)
Serving:
- Rice or noodles
- Lime wedges OR Nuoc Cham (Note 3)
- Fresh coriander/cilantro leaves and/or finely sliced green onions
- Finely sliced red chilli, sliced cucumber, crushed peanuts*
Instructions
- Mix Marinade in a bowl.
- Add shredded beef and mix. Set aside 5 minutes.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add about half the beef and spread out in single layer.
- Leave undisturbed until golden (about 1 minute). Flip then cook the other side just briefly (about 30 seconds) just to heat and get a touch of golden, then remove.
- Repeat with remaining beef.
- Serve over rice, using either limes or Nuoc Cham as the sauce, and garnishes of choice (I used them all in the photos!)
Recipe Notes:
Life of Dozer
Currently on a mini break with Dozer at Rick Stein’s Bannisters Hotel in Port Stephens! Finally – a great dog friendly hotel!!
Hi Nagi, I made this last night and it was delicious! What a great way to use up left over beef. A winner for sure! I will be making this again. Thank you so much for such neat recipe ideas.
Oh so good ! Made them on nap buns delicious 😋
Wow just wow !! Amazing and easy recipe and it’s gonna be something to make even with minced beef ( which is how I made it today !!!) and added the nuoc sham sauce to it which balanced the sweetness of the meat !!
Oh and we ate it with noodles instead of rice
We really enjoyed this recipe but did make it from scratch (don’t know how many people have enough left suitable beef leftover). My approx 750-770g brisket left me with 635 g shredded beef.
I tossed in charred green beans w coriander & mint. I did find though you really need a nuoc cham sauce to give the whole dish a lift – it makes it!
YUMMO – made this for dinner tonight but only had mince on hand. Super quick to make and utterly delicious. We will definitely be making this again and again. Thanks for the time you take to craft these recipes. They are all on point!
What are Whole Annatto seeds used for…….Thanks
I was wondering what i could make with the brisket from your wonderful Pho. So again another hit. I used bean sprouts today and tomorrow i will use rice. You are a great cook.Thanks again.
The caramelised Vietnamese beef is one of the best meals I have ever made! I hope you include it in your book 🙂
Thanks! N x
We love Vietnam and we are missing it with the COVID lockdown meaning we cannot travel there again for a while. Hope you’re doing ok in Sydney. Your recipes are keeping us well fed in lockdown in Newcastle! Really enjoyed this one, thank you!!
We love Vietnam and we are missing it with the COVID lockdown meaning we cannot travel there again for a while. Really enjoyed this one, thank you!!
Best recipe i have made in a while this was delicious, if your thinking about making it please do you wont regret it at all <3
I made these meatballs yesterday, they were beautiful fresh in vietnamese rolls and as good reheated today with noodles.
Yumm. Didn’t have cooked beef so just marinated thinly sliced sirloin tips.
Sound great J-Mom! N x
I have not yet made this recipe, but intend to using my leftover brisket burnt ends. It will a little smokey, true, but Nagi’s marinade sounds a lot like a good BBQ sauce. Serve over crispy lettuce as a salad with condiments — should be tasty!
Amazing recipe and loved by the whole family! I couldn’t believe how well enjoyed it was (fussy eaters over here). So simple and full of flavour. Thank you.
Omg you are amazing! I made this with shredded bison it was as good if not better than a similar dish at my favourite Vietnamese restaurant. I am getting so spoiled Nagi I rarely go out to eat…..I know made by me, following your instructions will be better. Thank you💕
So, so good – one of my favourite recipes from Nagi, and that’s saying something! This will be made weekly now! Such amazing flavour for something that was relatively simple to make. Thank you!
Dangggg!!! This recipe is off the hook! I made pho broth (from Nagi) and forgot to thaw my tenderloin in time to eat the pho. But you know what I had sitting out begging to be used? A big ol’ slab of cooked brisket. I cook a fair amount of Vietnamese food, so I had all of the ingredients on hand (cheaters lemongrass is the way to go). I threw the marinade together in a few minutes, shredded the beef, and prepped my lettuce shreds, cucumber, cilantro, and nuoc cham while my rice was cooking. The meat crisps up perfectly in a hot cast iron, and pretty much tastes like meat candy when it’s done. The whole thing took less that a 1/2 hour to make. And it’s so unbelievably good that it’s got me swearing I was Vietnamese in a past life. This one is a serious keeper.
This was delicious! My whole family loved it! I used the extra brisket from your Pho recipe (which we also loved) and served it over rice for a quick and easy meal.
YUM! Perfect Sharon! N x
Made this tonight. Oh my how lovely