A diner grills beef on a metal “tile” in a restaurant in Soc Trang Province

Traditionally grilled on a clay tile, the bo nuong ngoi is a beef dish very specific to Soc Trang Province.

Slices of soft beef are spiced with honey, minced garlic, red onion and lemon grass, and then grilled on a clay tile placed over red-hot coals.

A sheet of stainless steel shaped like a tile has replaced the traditional clay tiles these days in the interests of hygiene and ease of cleaning up. This “tile” conducts the heat quickly, so it takes less time to grill beef on it.

At a restaurant that serves bo nuong ngoi in Soc Trang, diners are provided with a stove with red-hot coals, a dish of spiced beef, a bowl of cooking oil, a bowl of sauce, and dishes of rice vermicelli, rice paper, fresh vegetables, cucumber, star fruit, green banana, and pineapple. If they wish, the customers can grill the beef by themselves, taking care to turn it regularly and baste it with some oil.

To enjoy the dish to its fullest, roll the grilled beef together with vegetables, star fruit, banana, cucumber, pineapple and rice vermicelli in a sheet of rice paper, and dip the roll into the sauce.

At some restaurants, rice vermicelli is replaced with banh hoi (a kind of rice noodle), a substitute that does not change the flavor of the dish.

Diners will notice that the dish has different flavors at different restaurants. This is because each restaurant has its own touch to spice the beef and make the sauce. The tastiest sauce is one that is garnished with minced pineapple.

The grilled-on-tile beef is only available in Soc Trang. Each serving for two people costs VND40,000-50,000 (US$2.4-2.9), and it is served at many restaurants in the Mekong Delta province. According to local residents, the restaurant in My Xuyen District on 64 Phan Boi Chau St., My Xuyen Town, is the best of them all.

Reported by Diem Thu