Lok Lak

Making Lok Lak Ahead

Best eaten at once. Keeps for 1 day in the fridge.

Making Lok Lak

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1. Mix the beef with the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic and 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes.

   Mark done Start 30 min timer

2. Stir the lime juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl for the dipping sauce.

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3. Heat the remaining oil in a wok or large pan over a very high heat. Sear the beef in 2 batches for 4 minutes each, turning, until browned outside and just pink inside.

   Mark done Start 4 min timer

4. Arrange the lettuce, tomatoes and onion on a plate, top with the beef and serve with the dipping sauce.

   Mark done

Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Worth Knowing

• Cook the beef in batches so it sears, not stews.
• Marinate in the fridge, not on the counter.
• Use plenty of freshly ground pepper in the dipping sauce.

Behind the Recipe

Beef, soy, oyster sauce, pepper: four things and an hour. Lok lak is a quick Cambodian dish of seared beef cubes served with a plate of lettuce, tomato and onion and a dipping sauce of lime juice and black pepper, and it is one of the best-known dishes on the country's menus. It comes together fast.

The cut matters. Use sirloin or another tender steak, and cut it in 3 cm cubes so each piece browns outside and stays pink within. Toss the cubes with the soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, garlic and a spoonful of oil, and marinate them in the fridge for thirty minutes. Get the pan very hot before the beef goes in, and cook in two batches. A crowded pan steams the beef and turns it grey.

The dipping sauce is simple: salt, lots of freshly ground black pepper and lime juice, stirred in a small bowl. Lay the beef on the lettuce and tomato, top with a fried egg if wanted, and serve with rice. Dip each bite in the sauce as you go. Rice is the usual partner.

Serving Ideas

Steamed rice · Fried egg · Cucumber · Cold beer

Ingredient Swaps

• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.
• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

Lok Lak FAQ

The Numbers per Serving

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. How the figures are worked out.

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