As a kid, sitting at the table and having dinner together was always a priority in my family. Our days were always filled with work, school, and responsibilities, but dinnertime was when we were able to slow down and be together. Growing up in a Vietnamese family, our homemade meals consisted of flavorful dishes served with hefty servings of vegetables.
Some of my fondest memories were when my parents would bring out the electric griddle and we would all make Butter Beef (Bò Chiên Bơ) together. We pan-fried thin slices of beef and onions in dabs of butter on a hot pan in the center of the table. Everyone would pick what they wanted to add to their bowl of vermicelli, lettuce, cucumbers, and fresh herbs, then top it all off with my Mom’s famous spicy sweet + sour fish sauce (Nước Chấm).
Now that I have a family of my own, I try to keep the tradition alive and create the same meals at home. It’s a simple yet versatile method of cooking — I like to also add salmon and shrimp. I make this dish often for weeknight dinners at home and for family and friend gatherings over the weekends because it’s a quick meal to prepare and lots of fun to eat.
INGREDIENTS
You can find my shopping list here. For the beef, I like to use pre-sliced ribeye located in the freezer section of my local Asian grocery store, H-mart. For the herbs, I prefer using mint and cilantro, but Thai basil and perilla leaves would work too.
PREPARATION
BEEF
Thinly slice beef or defrost pre-sliced ribeye and arrange on a plate. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of finely chopped lemongrass, salt, and pepper on top.
SALMON
Remove the skin and cut the salmon into 3” x ¼” slices and arrange on a plate.
SHRIMP
Peel and devein the shrimp, then slice them in half and arrange on a plate.
VERMICELLI
Cook the vermicelli by following the directions on the bag and put it in a large bowl.
LETTUCE
Rinse and dry the lettuce, then arrange whole leaves in a bowl.
ONIONS
Peel and cut the onions in half. Thinly slice onions and arrange on a plate – I placed it around the sliced salmon.
CUCUMBER
Cut the ends of the cucumber and discard them. Cut the cucumber in half length wise and thinly slice on a diagonal. Arrange them in the bowl with the lettuce.
HERBS
Rinse and dry the herbs and add it to the bowl with the lettuce and cucumbers.
FISH SAUCE (Nước Chấm)
Mix 4 tablespoons of fish sauce, 6 tablespoons of sugar, 4 tablespoons of hot water, 3 tablespoons of lime juice, 1 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic, 3 finely chopped Thai chilis, and 1 teaspoon of Sriracha. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and store in the refrigerator until ready to use.
RICE PAPER
Heat up water until its hot and add it to the larger section of the rice paper holder and insert the rice paper into the smaller section. If you don’t have a rice paper holder, you can add hot water to a shallow dish large enough to fit the rice paper.
HOW TO COOK
Set the electric skillet in the middle of the table and set the ribeye, salmon, shrimp, vegetables, vermicelli, rice paper, fish sauce, and peanuts on the table. You can use an electric skillet, cast iron griddle pan, portable burner, or if you prefer, you can cook on the stove and serve everything on a platter.
Bring the skillet to a medium-high heat and add a few pats of butter. Once the butter starts to melt and bubble, add the onions first to give them a head start. Then add a few slices of the beef, salmon, and shrimp. Stir around until everything is cooked. Guests can pick their own portions out of the pan to eat, then add more onions and protein to the pan to cook more.
HOW TO EAT
There are a few different ways to eat and enjoy your Butter Pan cooked meal:
IN A BOWL
Just add everything you want in a bowl, tearing up the lettuce and herbs into bite size pieces. This is my favorite way of eating because I like to mix everything together with a heaping spoonfuls of my mom’s famous fish sauce.
LETTUCE WRAP
Take a whole lettuce leaf and add vermicelli, beef, salmon, shrimp, onions, and/or herbs, then fold over like a taco. Dip the lettuce wrap into your spicy sweet + sour fish sauce and enjoy!
RICE PAPER ROLL
Quickly dip the rice paper in hot water and lay flat on a plate. Add vermicelli, ribeye, salmon, shrimp, onions, and/or herbs in the middle of the rice paper. Lift the bottom of the rice paper and fold over the toppings, then fold over the ends. Tightly roll the filling upwards until you’ve reached the end.
What were your favorite family meals as a kid?
