National Dishes of the World

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Beef lok lak
Photo: Nick Nguyen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

main dish

Beef lok lak

ឡុកឡាក់ (lok lak)

Cubes of marinated beef stir-fried in a wok and served on lettuce and tomato with a Kampot pepper and lime dip.

Eaten in: Cambodia

Prep
20 min
Cooking
10 min
Resting
30 min
Total
1 h
Servings
4

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About the dish

Lok lak is one of the most popular dishes in Cambodian restaurants and homes. Cubes of beef are marinated in oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic and sugar and seared briefly over high heat so they stay juicy inside and caramelised outside. They are served on lettuce leaves with slices of tomato, cucumber and raw onion, with rice and often a fried egg on top. The essential partner is a simple dipping sauce of lime juice, salt and plenty of black pepper, ideally the famous pepper from Kampot province. A similar dish is known in Vietnam as bò lúc lắc.

Main ingredients

  • beef
  • oyster sauce
  • soy sauce
  • garlic
  • lettuce
  • tomato
  • lime
  • black pepper

Recipe

Beef lok lak

https://foodmap.ominuvo.com/dish/beef-lok-lak

Ingredients

4 servings

4 servings

Method

  1. Mix the beef with the oyster sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, sugar and half the garlic and marinate for 30 minutes.

  2. Arrange the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and onion on plates.

  3. Mix the lime juice with the pepper and salt and divide between small dipping bowls.

  4. Heat the oil in a wok until very hot, add the rest of the garlic and, after a few seconds, the beef.

  5. Stir-fry for 3–4 minutes, shaking the wok, until the meat is browned outside and still pink in the middle.

  6. If you like, fry the eggs.

  7. Pile the beef onto the salad, top with an egg and serve with rice and the lime and pepper dip.

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