Shaking Beef Tater Tots
Vietnamese Bo Luc Loc, aka Shaking Beef, served with crispy tater tots, tomato, cucumber and spicy Thai chilis! Steak and potatoes – so classic! But with a tasty Vietnamese twist. Add a little heat and you have everything I love on one big plate.
The inspiration for this recipe
I love a big pile of flavorful beef on a plate. I also love a big pile of tater tots on a plate! Naturally decided to combine these two things to make a pile of beef and tots. But this combination of shaking beef and tater tots ended up being more than the sum of its parts. The sticky sauce from the meat cling beautifully to the crispy edges of the tots
Marinate the beef
Thee beef marinade is oyster sauce, soy sauce, maggi seasoning, and so much garlic! I used the recipes from both Hungry Huy and Vicky Pham as a helpful guide as I was coming up with my version. After the beef is marinated overnight, dry it off a bit and dust with cornstarch.
Cook the beef
Cook the meat in a pan on high heat in small batches so it can get charred and crispy on the edges. I used sirloin flap because I think it has the best texture for steak tips or bites, and is a great price too. Ribeye or standard sirloin might be more traditional in a shaking beef recipe.
Mix in the tots!
After you cook the meat in batches you can add in some onions, add the meat back in, and add a little more seasoning and butter. Then GENTLEY mix in the tots! I cooked the tots first in a pan on super high heat.
Serve the shaking beef tater tots
Pile up the shaking beef and tater tots, then top with some chopped tomato, cucumber, and hot peppers. I also drizzled on some sriracha.
Time to dig in! You could have this with friends as an appetizer, as snack during the game, or serve it as the main course. It can work many different ways!
The sauce from the beef tastes so nice on the tots, and it is sticky and fatty enough to keep the tots crispy.
Twists on shaking beef tater tots
I mentioned these recipes before as inspiration, but if you want a more traditional shaking beef, or bo luc lac recipe, check out these two versions.
For more tasty tots, check out my mapo tofu tots, lobster tots, or these spicy deviled tots!
Shaking Beef Tater Tots
Ingredients
Beef and marinade
- 1.25 pounds sirloin flap cut into 1 inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon maggi seasoning
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil
- pinch salt
The rest
- 24 ounces frozen tater tots
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 small onion sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon maggi seasoning
- chopped cucumber
- chopped tomato
- sliced Thai chilis
- sriracha
Instructions
- Mix the beef with the marinade. Seal and store in the fridge overnight
- Preheat the oven to 450 (regardless of what it says on the tater tot package)
- Toss the tots on a pan with some peanut oil and a pinch of salt until coated.
- Bake at 450 for 15 minutes. Switch the heat to broil, and move the pan to right under the broiler. Broil, moving around as needed for even broiling, until lightly browned on top. Remove from heat.
- Spread the steak on a baking sheet or plate and pat dry. Sprinkle with cornstarch and toss to coat on all sides.
- Bring a large frying pan to medium high heat with a little peanut oil. Cook the steak in batches so as not to crowd the pan. Cook to char on all sides. Remove to a bowl and repeat with next batch.
- Add the onions to the pan and more oil if needed. Use a wooden spatula to scrape the pan with the onions and get any browned bits off the bottom. Turn heat to medium low and add in the butter and charred steak.
- Add in the soy sauce, vinegar, and maggi and stir to combine. Add in the tater tots, and be very gentle as you toss to combine to coat the tots in the sauce but not break them too much!
- Serve the tots and top with tomato, cucumber, chilis, and sriracha.