Flavorful Cambodian Lok Lak Black Pepper Beef Recipe

With all of the crazy events of the year so far, you might be feeling like me and really missing traveling. The good news is, there’s nothing stopping us from cooking meals that transport us to every corner of the planet through our taste buds. This Cambodian beef dish has amazing flavor from the delicious marinade made with Kampot peppercorns and savory sauces.

If you can’t find the Thai seasoning sauce, you can try substituting some coconut aminos to account for the hint of sweetness. Golden Mountain is a popular brand of seasoning sauce and can be found at Asian groceries or ordered online. If you can’t find the Kampot peppercorns, simply substitute black peppercorns - your results will still be fabulous.

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Delightfully Fresh Southeast Asian Flavors

Today, lok lak enjoys more popularity in Cambodia than any other country, and therefore is known largely as a Cambodian dish. However, the roots of this delectable beef stir fry are found in Vietnam, and a result of French influence from Indochinese colonial times. If you’re able to find the Kampot pepper, it imparts a truly unique flavor to the recipe. This traditionally grown Cambodian pepper is considered one of the best in the world, and imparts delicate floral flavors of eucalyptus and fresh mint that gracefully enhance the succulent red meat.

Beef Raised In A Valley Of The Sangre De Cristo Mountains

Our grass-fed & finished beef is raised essentially wild on a beautiful 20,000 acre ranch here in New Mexico. The cows roam freely as far as the eye can see with extremely minimal handling. For those familiar with New Mexico, it might sound surprising that there’s so much lush green grass for them to graze on. These fields are naturally irrigated by a sparkling river flowing with ice-melt from the Sangre de Cristo mountains. We started stocking beef due to popular demand from customers who wanted to eat this meat with the knowledge that it’s impeccably sourced.

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Carefully Sourced From The Ranch To Your Door

Our cattle enjoy the shade of large trees, blue sunny skies and direct access to this river. People tell us all the time that they stopped eating beef because it was too difficult to find a truly reliable source. We felt the same way, until we began sourcing from this farm. We started stocking beef due to popular demand from customers who wanted to eat this meat with the knowledge that it’s impeccably sourced.

We work exclusively with masterful local butchers. Our beef is cut by Amish butchers who have been practicing their craft for generations. Five people work on one animal at a time and the utmost care and precision is put into each cut of meat. Everything is pressure sealed immediately after butchering and flash frozen at the peak of freshness. Every order is hand packed at our warehouse in Santa Fe and shipped in reusable coolers with dry ice, straight to your door.

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup oyster sauce
• 8 cloves garlic, crushed and peeled
• 3 tablespoons cooking rice wine
• 2 ¾ tablespoons coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons Thai seasoning sauce
• 2 tablespoons high quality dark soy sauce
• 2 ½ teaspoons crushed Kampot peppercorns (can substitute other peppercorns if necessary)
• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground Kampot peppercorns (can substitute other peppercorns if necessary)
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 pounds grass fed & finished beef top sirloin steak, cut into ¾ inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons bison tallow or avocado oil
• 1 medium red onion, sliced very thin
• Juice of one lime
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 8 large butter lettuce leaves

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Instructions:

1. In a small bowl, stir together the oyster sauce, crushed garlic cloves, rice cooking wine, coconut sugar, Thai seasoning sauce, dark soy sauce, and the crushed Kampot peppercorns.
2. In a separate, medium-sized bowl, stir together the cornstarch and two tablespoons of water. Stir until the cornstarch is completely dissolved.
3. Put the cubes of beef into the bowl with the cornstarch mixture. Toss to coat thoroughly. Add ¼ cup of the oyster sauce mixture from the small bowl. Cover and refrigerate to marinate the meat for approximately 8 hours (overnight works well). Cover the remaining oyster sauce mixture in the small bowl and reserve.
4. Prior to cooking, let the marinated meat mixture sit out at room temperature for approximately 20 minutes.
5. Heat the bison tallow or avocado oil in a wok or a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the marinated beef mixture to the wok and cook until seared, shaking the pan often. The cubes should have a nice brown sear on all sides after 4-5 minutes.
6. Add in the thinly sliced red onion and the rest of the oyster sauce mixture and cook for approximately 2 more minutes, shaking the pan frequently.
7. In a small dish, stir together the lime juice, sea salt and the coarsely ground Kampot peppercorns to make a serving sauce. Serve on a platter with the lettuce leaves on the bottom, the chunks of beef on top and the lime sauce drizzled over everything. Enjoy immediately.

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