Bo Xao Xa (Vietnamese Beef Sauteed with Lemongrass)

Speaking of my friend Don (Yes, Don said he wanted his real name used on the blog and not to be mentioned as one of my many generic "friends." :P ), a few months back he came over for dinner and he requested a venison dinner. So although the title of the post says beef, this was all deer or elk meat (I forgot which but my dad hunts both). It's just titled beef since that's more accessible to most people. :) I defrosted one of the slabs of venison my dad stocks my freezer with and asked Don what he wanted to eat. He requested the meat be cooked in as many ways as possible, so we had elk steak, bo luc lac (Vietnamese shaking beef), and xao xa (sauteed with lemongrass). And cha gio (Vietnamese egg rolls) since I had some on hand. (Deer meat tastes slightly milder than elk, but both taste very similar to beef to me so I use them interchangeably in most of my beef recipes. Game meat is leaner and healthier than beef as the animals haven't been fed byproducts and pumped full of hormones. If you don't want a "gamey" smell or taste, after slicing the venison, give the meat another rinse to remove excess blood.) As I was slicing and dicing lemongrass, garlic, and shallots, I made Don wrap the egg rolls and man the stove. We ate the lemongrass venison with lettuce and herbs wrapped in rice paper. And also plain with rice. I actually don't measure out my seasonings so these are approximates. Obviously adjust to your tastebuds. You can also grill the meat thereby making it nuong xa (grilled with lemongrass), or cook ga nuong xa (chicken grilled with lemongrass). Bo Xao Xa (Vietnamese Beef Sauteed with Lemongrass) For 1 lb of meat, you'll need: Beef sliced thinly 2 stalks lemongrass, finely minced a few cloves of garlic, minced a few small shallots, minced about 1 tblsp Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce), or to taste about 1 tsp salt, or to taste about 2 tsp ground black pepper, or to taste about 1 tblsp brown sugar, or to taste Optional: Add a minced chili pepper or a spoonful of chili paste if you like spicy. Grind lemongrass, garlic, and shallots in a food processor until finely minced. Add the fish sauce, salt, ground black pepper, and brown sugar. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Add beef and mix with marinade thoroughly. Allow to rest for the meat to absorb the marinade, or you can saute the meat right away. Serve with rice or rice paper. The rest of our dinner. My bo luc lac recipe. My cha gio recipe. Enjoy! ***** 1 year ago today, the Best of 2006 roses from my garden.