Bún Bò Xào (or Bún Bò Xào Xả, Bún Bò Nam Bộ, Bo Bun) is a quick and easy Vietnamese meal packed with fresh herbs, flavorful lemongrass beef, rice noodles and a sweet & tangy fish sauce dressing.
Take you less than 30 minutes for cooking but this dish surpasses all expectations.
Table of Contents
Bún Bò Xào vs. Bún Bò Nam Bộ
Both Bún Bò Xào and Bún Bò Nam Bộ are delicious rice noodle salads topped with stir-fried beef, a popular street food in Vietnam. While they share many similarities, the dish has a few regional differences—sometimes the beef is marinated with lemongrass, depending on local tastes.
In the South, there’s a similar dish called Bún Thịt Xào, which swaps the beef for pork.
If you travel to France, you may come across Bò Bún, a version of Bún Bò Xào that was brought to France by Vietnamese immigrants during the Indochina War.
It’s also easy to confuse these noodle salads with another Vietnamese favorite, Bún Bò Huế. But unlike the salads, Bún Bò Huế is a spicy, hearty beef noodle soup that comes from the city of Huế, Vietnam’s ancient imperial capital.
Rice noodle salads are a staple in Vietnamese cuisine, known for being light, refreshing, and quick to prepare—perfect when you want something faster than soups (like Bún Mọc or Canh Bún).
If you love Bún Bò Xào, you’ll likely enjoy Bún Chả (northern noodles with grilled pork) or Bún Thịt Nướng (southern noodles with grilled pork).
Why this recipe works
- Quick and simple: With all the ingredients ready in under 30 minutes, it’s my mom’s go-to choice for time-strapped cooking sessions.
- Bursting with flavors and textures: give it a taste and you will know I didn’t lie.
- Gluten-free: Like many Vietnamese dishes such as Bánh Cuốn or Bánh Xèo, this Bún Bò Xào is totally gluten-free.
Ingredients
BEEF:
- All top round steak, flank steak, sirloin, strip, and rib-eye cuts work well in this recipe.
MARINADE:
- Lemongrass: Lemongrass is quite popular in Vietnamese cuisine. It is present in many BBQ, stir-fried dishes, and stews, such as Vietnamese pork chops and Vietnamese chicken curry.
- Onion & Garlic: Provide more flavors and aroma to the dish
- Cornstarch: My mom’s secret tip for achieving super tender beef. (Tapioca starch, Potato starch work well too)
- Seasonings: soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and cooking oil.
- Ớt Sa Tế (Vietnamese lemongrass chili oil): Add some if you have it on hand. It takes the beef to another level.
OTHER INGREDIENTS:
- Rice Vermicelli Noodles: “bún” in Vietnamese
- Mung Bean Sprouts: optional. I personally love mung bean sprouts, so I added them to the stir-fried beef.
- Vegetables: lettuce, cucumber
- Rau Thơm (Vietnamese herbs): mint, cilantro…
- Nước Chấm (Vietnamese dipping fish sauce): fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chili, vinegar or lime/lemon juice.
- Mỡ Hành (Vietnamese scallion oil) & Đồ Chua (Vietnamese pickled carrots & daikon): optional.
- Crispy Fried Shallots: optional. You can get them from Asian super markets.
- Roasted Peanuts: optional.
Helpful Tips
- Make sure to prepare all the other components before stir-frying the beef. The beef should be served hot.
- Stir-fry the beef in small batches to prevent overcrowding the pan. I only work with 2/3 lbs (300g) beef at a time.
- Don’t overcook your beef to keep it tender.
- This Vietnamese Lemongrass Beef (Bò Xào Xả) goes amazing with steamed rice also.
More Tasty Vietnamese recipes with beef (beyond Phở)
Bún Bò Xào/Bún Bò Nam Bộ (Vietnamese beef vermicelli bowl)
Ingredients
Fish Sauce Dressing
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 6 tbsp hot water
- 1 tsp rice vinegar (5%)
- Minced garlic
- Minced chili
Marinated Lemongrass Beef
- 0.7 pound beef (top round steak, flank steak, sirloin, strip, and rib-eye cuts) (320g)
- 1½ tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 stalk lemongrass (finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 onion (thinly sliced)
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts (100g)
Serving
- Dry or fresh rice vermicelli
- Lettuce
- Cucumber
- Herbs (mint, cilantro…)
- Vietnamese Scallion Oil (Mỡ hành) (optional)
- Vietnamese Pickled Carrot and Daikon (Đồ chua) (optional)
- Fried Shallots (optional)
- Roasted Peanuts (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the fish sauce dressing & scallion oil
- For the fish sauce dressing, mix all ingredients and set aside.
- For the scallion oil (Mỡ Hành): In a heat-resistant bowl, mix chopped scallions, sugar, and salt. Heat oil in a pan until it's close to smoking point, then carefully pour it into the bowl with the other ingredients. Stir everything together and let the sauce cool.
Marinate the beef
- Slice the beef thinly against the grain.
- Marinate it with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch, garlic, lemongrass, and cooking oil. Rest for 15 minutes.
Prepare other components during this time
- Prepare the ricei noodles following the package instructions.
- Wash all the vegetables: lettuce, bean sprouts, and herbs.
- Cut the lettuce thinly. Wash and julienne the cucumber.
Stir-fry the beef and serve
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat, add oil, and cook the onion until shiny and soft. Add the marinated beef.
- Stir-fry beef undisturbed for 20-30 seconds. Then, add mung bean sprouts and stir-fry until perfectly cooked.
- Create your noodle bowl with vermicelli noodles, lettuce, mint, cucumber, herbs, and stir-fried beef. Top it with peanuts, pickled carrot and daikon, scallion oil, and fried shallots. Drizzle Vietnamese dipping sauce to taste and serve!
