bo kho pot pie

Bo Kho Pot Pie
Vietnamese Beef Stew in a Pot Pie

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRLbfdkDzFg/
https://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2010/11/bo-kho-vietnamese-beef-stew-pot-pie.html
The algorithm brought me the most brilliant idea, Bo Kho Pot Pie from sharemyroots on Instagram. Of course it's short form content so not all of the instructions are really there. I searched it on Google and found a more detailed version by Wandering Chopsticks, and also modified it based on how it was going. I found that the potato was enough and no roux or flour was needed. I've linked both above.

Ingredients (yields 2 round pot pies in addition to breakfast (2 bowls for 2):
1.8 lbs beef chuck roast (I asked for 1.5 but this was fine) cubed
bo kho seasoning (Gia Vị Nấu Bò Kho) I used a little less than half the packet
3 stalks of lemongrass chopped (next time I'd like to try smashing it)
1-inch ginger sliced
1 stick of cinnamon
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
1 tsp five-spice
1 tsp Ca Ri Ni An Do
1 tblsp fish sauce (red boat brand)
about half a small can of tomato paste
1 tsp of MSG
maybe 1 tblsp of white sugar
5 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
3 potatoes peeled and roughly chopped
1.5 onions roughly diced
salt to taste
frozen pie crust I did double crusted pie


Obviously I'm an intuitive home chef. I prepared a lot of ingredients in advance. When ready to cook, I think I started at 10 and finished baking (ie. pies wrapped up for a potluck) at around 2:30. So ~5.5 hours not including prep.

I cubed the beef chuck roast and marinaded it overnight with a bit of salt to cover and some cracked black pepper. I'm not sure if this came through or not. I also lightly poured in some sesame oil.

In a large pot, add olive oil. Add the beef and then the bo kho seasoning. (I added the seasoning first and it burnt a bit). Stir a bit then add lemongrass and ginger.

Then add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, star anise, five spice, curry powder, fish sauce, MSG, and tomato paste. Add salt to taste.

Cover with 2.5 quarts of water then add carrot, potato, and onion. Simmer for 45 minutes.

Stir occasionally and skim fat from the top. I found a lot of spices came out during this process. Remove lemongrass and ginger at the end of this step.

The consistency should be pretty thick, but still liquid.

I forgot to take the pie crusts out so I warmed them up with my body heat. My boyfriend and I took turns lying on them. (Wrapped in their plastic casing!) That probably took about 20-30 minutes but it worked. Butter the sides of the pie dish liberally. Then unfurl the first frozen pie crust on top. Lightly press them against the side. You can use the included wax paper to lay on top of the pie crust then weigh it down so that it doesn't lift during baking. I've skipped this step before and found some pockets in my pie. If you don't have pie marbles? or beans, I just used dry rice for just about 10 minutes or so.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Then scoop beef stew into the pie dish. Cover with another sheet of pie crust. Fold over the ends to secure.

Brush egg wash onto the crust then cut some vents to release steam. I found that the beef stew kind of closed up the holes during baking so keep an eye on them so you can get a thicker stew filling.

I put both pies in the second to lowest rack. Monitor the baking. I think in total I baked for 1hr and 20 minutes. Just keep checking the crust so that it comes out nice and golden. It can take a while depending on the wetness of the stew. If the edges start to look done, cover them with some aluminum foil to prevent burning.

Anyways, that was it. When it looked fine I turned off the oven but kept the pie in there. I think that helped reduce some of the stew inside.

I got some pretty good feedback overall! Next time I'll take pictures.