It really brings out the richness of the beef.

It doesnt just come from the beef bones; its from the fish sauce incorporated into the broth.

Vietnamese cuisine has a lot of French influences because of seven decades of colonization.

A white serving bowl with beef stew

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Its called bo kho, and my family and I often enjoy it with rice noodles or rice.

While bo kho is only sometimes spicy, its almost always umami-laden, thanks to splashes of fish sauce.

Lets take thisEasy Beef Stewrecipe, for example.

Ingredients for stew or goulash with diced beef, onions, bell pepper, herbs and spices from above on a white painted table

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This allows you to adjust the flavor and ensure it doesnt overwhelm the dish.

When you add fish sauce at the end of cooking, its pungency can be too pronounced.

You want your beef stew to taste and smell like a meaty dish, rather than a seafood dish.

To the beef stew recipe I referenced above, add about one tablespoon of sugar to the broth.