Vietnam – Bo Luc Lac

by Fauzan Anandika

For most of us, meet up again with our ex can become an awkward moment, but not in Vietnam. There is a place known as the love market Khau Vai. This market is located in the North Province Ha Giang, Vietnam. On every 26th and 27th of the lunar calendar, there is a unique festival held in the Khau Vai market. On that day, hundreds of ex-couple gathering in the market and enjoy the love market festival.

They date their ex during the festival, someone they loved but cannot be married cause for any reason. This tradition comes from a local story about a couple from a different tribe. These two tribes have a big gap. Their love becomes forbidden because of the war between those two tribes. The couple decides to break their love and promise to meet each other again every 26th and 27th each month.

At the festival, you will see the participant using their best traditional cloth. The festival becomes an opportunity to meet their ex, talk about marriage, how their lives go, and any other things. The local citizen believes that the festival will not ruin someone’s marriage since it was held once.

Despite their unique festival, Vietnam also full of delicious dishes. The Vietnam dish is varying from noodles and rice as a base. They also use a variety of meat as their protein, especially beef. One of the beef meals is Bo Luc Lac. Influences by France, Bo Luc Lac, consists of sauteed beef with a mix of cucumber, tomato, shallot, pepper, and soy sauce. In the past, when the beef price still expensive, Bo Luc Lac only eats by the royal family and in the formal ceremony. But now everyone can eat Bo Luc Lac any time they wanted.   

Cooking Bo Luc Lac is fascinating, a recipe you need to try at home. Every ingredient can find in the local supermarket or substituted with other ingredients that suit your taste.

Ingredient

• 250 gram of beef meat, diced cut
• ½ tablespoon of salty soy sauce
• ½ tablespoon of fish sauce
• ½ tablespoon of chili sauce
• ½ tablespoon sweet soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 2 tablespoon of olive oil
• ½ teaspoon of garlic powder
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• Olive oil for grilling

Complementary

• 2 pieces of tomato
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar
• 2 tablespoon sugar

Carrot salad ingredient

• 1 piece of carrot, thin sliced
• 2 tablespoons of vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of sugar

Onion salad ingredient

• 1 piece of onion
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Carrot salad preparation

1. Mix carrot, sugar, vinegar.
2. Keep for3 hours.

Salad Bombay preparation

1. Mix onions, sugar, and vinegar.
2. Keep for 3 hours.

How to cook

1. Marinate the beef with salty soy sauce, fish sauce, sweet soy sauce, chili sauce, sugar, olive oil, and garlic powder. Marinate for 3 hours.
2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan.
3. Grill the beef for 3 minutes.
4. Add garlic and grill again for 3 minutes.
5. Place it on a serving plate.
6. Top with carrot and onions salad.
7. Bo Luc Lac is ready to be served.