With Lean Beef, slice the beef thinly. To achieve thin beef slices as well as to make slicing easier, you should chill your beef in freezer for 30 minutes or until it’s firm. Then, marinate the beef with garlic, shallot, salt/fish sauce, a bit of sugar and lemongrass (optional).

Wash lettuce, slice cucumber and prepare pickles (refer to my pickled carrots and daikon recipe)

In a pan, add cooking oil and turn on medium heat. Once the oil boils, add beef slices in and quickly stir-fry until they are cooked. Don’t stir fry for too long because it can become chewier.

While stirring beef, you can boil rice vermicelli in parallel. Add dried vermicelli and water to a saucepan or a pot and start heating them up with high heat. When the vermicelli starts softening, stir it occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pan/pot. Finally, drain out the water and rinse cooked vermicelli under cool water. The whole process is often in 5-8 minutes.

For ones who don’t like the smell of fish sauce, you can substitute it for vegan fish sauce. Mix sugar, vinegar/lemon juice, garlic, and fish sauce together. Stir until dissolved, then add water. Adjust the flavor following your taste. You can add a bit of carrot & daikon pickles into the sauce as well.

With peanut and shallot, if you haven’t had roasted peanuts and fried shallots, you can make them yourself. It would take you around 15-30 minutes. I usually buy already roasted peanuts and fried shallots from supermarket to save time.

In a bowl, add boiled rice vermicelli first, then vegetables, pickles, and beef slices.A set of Bun Bo Nam Bo: beef, vegetables, dressing sauce, toppings

Garnish with roasted peanuts and fried shallots. Finally, add dressing sauce in and enjoy.