Shaking beef or bo luc lac (Vietnamese: bò lúc lắc, French: bœuf lôc lac) is a Vietnamese and Cambodian dish that consists of beef sauteed with cucumber, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, pepper, and soy sauce. The beef is cut into small cubes the size of playing dice (hột lúc lắc) before being sauteed. Beef used to be a luxury ingredient; the dish was therefore mostly served at formal events, such as wedding banquets and anniversaries,[2] although now it has become a common food.[3] Before French colonization, cows were only used for manual labour and were working animals.[3][4]
In the Vietnamese language, bò means "beef" and lúc lắc means "shaken".[5]
In Cambodia, shaking beef is known as lok lak or loc lac (Khmer: ឡុកឡាក់) and often considered a national dish, though it is possible the dish originated in Vietnam.[6][7] The original lok lak uses high-quality steak cut into cubes and pan-seared in French butter which stems from Indochina's French colonial past, while a simpler version influenced by Chinese culinary techniques uses cheap cuts of beef and Chinese oyster sauce.[8]
Bò Lúc Lắc is a famous Vietnamese beef stir fry. In the Vietnamese language, bo means beef, and Lúc Lắc means shaken.
The classic Khmer dish loc lac (shaking beef) derives from the Vietnamese standard thit bo luc lac, yet in Cambodia it is regarded proudly as a home-grown national dish.
Lok lak is so popular in Cambodia that you could think it is originally from there, but it actually comes from Vietnam, where it is called bò lúc lắc. Bò means "beef" and lúc lắc means "stir" or "shake". This term evokes the movement of the diced meat in the wok.