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.

Delicious Vietnamese Bun Bo Xao - A flavorful noodle salad dish with tender stir-fried beef, fresh herbs, and rice noodles, topped with peanuts and served with Vietnamese dipping sauce.

🙋‍♀️ Bún Bò Xào vs. Bún Bò Nam Bộ

Both Bún Bò Xào and Bún Bò Nam Bộ refer to rice noodle salad with stir-fried beef, a popular street food in Vietnam. They differ slightly depending on the region.

Some variations:

Bún Bò Nam Bộ (the Northern version): Beef is not marinated with lemongrass and is stir-fried with mung bean sprouts. It’s served with Northern-style dipping fish sauce.

Bún Bò Xào (the Southern version): Beef is marinated with lemongrass, stir-fried with onion (sometimes with jicama), and topped with some Mỡ Hành and Đồ Chua . It is served with Nước Chấm (the dipping fish sauce with Southern flavor).

Bún Thịt Xào (also popular in the South): Uses pork instead of beef.

Bo Bun: A Vietnamese dish popular in France. It’s more similar to Bún Bò Xào but in a simpler version, without Mỡ Hành or Đồ Chua. Due to the era of French colonization in Vietnam, there are many Franco-Vietnamese fusion dishes.

Another “Bún Bò” in Vietnam that is super popular: Bún Bò Huế. This spicy beef noodle soup from Huế is definitely my ultimate favorite.

Fun facts:

Noodle salad is a popular concept in Vietnamese cuisine since it’s refreshing, light, and takes less time to cook than noodle soups like Bún Mọc or Canh Bún. Some popular noodle salads are:

Phở Trộn Gà (the salad version of Chicken Phở)
Bún Thịt Nướng (with grilled pork)
Bún Chả Giò (with Vietnamese egg rolls)
Bún Gà Nướng (with grilled chicken)
Bún Tôm Nướng (with grilled shrimps)

❤️ Why this recipe works

Vietnamese Beef Noodle Salad (Bun Bo Xao) is a quick and easy Vietnamese meal packed with fresh herbs, flavorful lemongrass beef, rice noodles, and a sweet & tangy fish sauce dressing. Healthy, easy, and quick to prepare, it's all for you.

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 recipes such as Bánh Cuốn or Bánh Xèo , this Bún Bò Xào is totally gluten-free.

🍜 Ingredients

This is my take on Vietnamese noodle salad with beef, not exactly an authentic Bún Bò Xào or Bún Bò Nam Bộ. I’ve combined elements from both versions to create my own bowl but this beef noodle dish is simply BEEFING.

The Beef:

Beef: all top round steak, flank steak, sirloin, strip, and rib-eye cuts work well in this recipe.
Lemongrass: Lemongrass is quite popular in Vietnamese cuisine. It is present in many BBQ, stir-fried dishes, and stews like:
- Vietnamese Grilled Pork Chops
- Grilled Lemongrass Chicken
- Vietnamese Spicy Lemongrass Chicken
- Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Vietnamese Spicy Lemongrass Chicken (Gà Xào Xả Ớt) – A flavorful and aromatic dish with succulent chicken infused with lemongrass, chili and other spices. — Vietnamese Spicy Lemongrass Chicken

Onion & Garlic: Provide more flavors and aroma to the dish
Mung Bean Sprouts I personally love mung bean sprouts, so I added them to the stir-fried beef.
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: fresh or dry rice noodles
Vegetables: lettuce, cucumber
Vietnamese Herbs (rau thơm): mint, cilantro…

Nước chấm (Vietnamese dipping fish sauce): fish sauce, sugar, garlic, chili, vinegar or lime/lemon juice.
Mỡ Hành & Đồ Chua: optional
Crispy Fried Shallots (optional): you can get them from Asian super markets, in Germany store-bought Röstzwiebeln is a great substitute.
Roasted Peanuts (optional)

📝 Instructions

Prepare fish sauce dressing and scallion oil in advance:

For the fish sauce dressing (nước mắm chấm): combine all ingredients and set aside.

Vietnamese dipping fish sauce instruction

For the scallion oil: 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.

Mo Hanh, or Vietnamese scallion oil. The vibrant green oil is made by infusing scallions in vegetable oil or pork lard, resulting in a flavorful and aromatic condiment.

Prepare the marinated beef:

Begin by slicing the beef thinly against the grain.
In a bowl, marinate the beef with soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, cornstarch, minced garlic, finely chopped lemongrass, and cooking oil. Allow it to rest for 15 minutes.

During this time, prepare other components:

Cook the vermicelli noodles according to the package instructions.
Wash all the veggies: lettuce, bean sprouts, and herbs.
Thinly chop the lettuce.

Wash and julienne the cucumber.

Stir-fry beef and serve:

Heat a pan over medium-high heat, then add oil. Once the pan is hot, add the onion and cook until it becomes shiny and soft. Then add the beef.
Stir-fry beef undisturbed for 20-30 seconds. Then, add the mung bean sprouts and continue cooking until everything is cooked to perfection.
Create your noodle bowl by adding vermicelli noodles to a bowl. Layer it with lettuce, mint, cucumber, herbs, and stir-fried beef. Top with peanuts, pickled carrot and daikon, scallion oil, and fried shallots.
Drizzle Vietnamese dipping sauce over the top to taste and serve!

🌟 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)

Bò Kho (Vietnamese Beef Stew): a rich and hearty soup from Southern Vietnam, featuring succulent beef shank, fragrant lemongrass, carrots, and onions.
Vietnamese Ground Beef Rice Bowl: The stir-fried lemongrass ground beef is the easy and quick version of the beef in Bún Bò Xào. Done in less than 20 minutes.
Phở Bò Sốt Vang (Red Wine Beef Stew Phở): A specialty of Hanoi, much easier than traditional beef phở, especially when you have a crockpot.
Phở Sa Tế (Spicy Beef Satay Phở): Another phở with some Southeast Asian influence. Creamy peanut butter and numbing Vietnamese lemongrass chili oil create a hit

If you’ve tried this recipe or any others from my blog, please share your creations with me on Instagram by tagging #savour_thepho or mentioning me in your stories with @savour_thepho. I would be thrilled to see what you’ve made and it would definitely brighten my day! Don’t forget to stay in touch with me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube 🥰.