Bo Kho Pasta (Delicious Fusion Pasta Recipe)

Bo Kho is a delicious Vietnamese spiced, stewed meat. I thought the methodology behind making it was quite similar to ragu - so I paired it with some malfadine for a delicious fusion creation -- Bo Kho Pasta. Using the instant pot to make this dish, I cut down the cooking time by hours!

Jump to:

• 🍏 How to Make It Healthy – The Fitsian Method
• 💡Tips and Tricks
• 📋 Ingredient Notes
• 🔪 Step by Step Instructions
• 🍳 Recipe

🍏 How to Make It Healthy – The Fitsian Method

Pasta is not one of those dishes people generally think of eating when trying to cut weight - but by portioning it appropriately, it’s easy to fit into your weekday diet! This is where having a food scale is important -- I typically use 55g of pasta (~200 calories). And for the meat in the recipe, I used 0.25lb of chuck beef, at ~200 calories. I use this Ozeri Food Scale, which I love because I can easily switch between units of measurement -- not to mention it’s super affordable!

💡Tips and Tricks

Is Bo Kho healthy?

By keeping ingredient portioning in check, yes bo kho can be very healthy -- even when served with pasta! This recipe has only 520 calories and 41g of protein, making it a delicious and well balanced meal.

I don't have an instant pot. Can I still make this recipe?

Yes -- you can make it the traditional method by slow cooking it on the stove. You can follow the methodology laid out here by Wok and Kin's Bo Kho recipe.

A note on spices and flavoring...

To enhance the flavor for this recipe, I would highly recommend marinading the beef overnight and searing the aromatics in the instant pot for more flavor. This recipe provides you step by step instructions on creating the bo kho flavoring, but many Asian supermarkets also sell pre-made bo kho seasoning if you're short on time and/or don't have many of the ingredients listed out here.

If you're a big pasta fan and want more healthy pasta recipes, check out my Pasta Without Pounds collection.

📋 Ingredient Notes

Beef and Marinade

• ¼ lb Beef chuck
• 1 teaspoon Five Spice powder
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Ginger
• 1 tablespoon Soy sauce

Pasta and Sauce

• 1 serving of Malfadine or pasta of choice (55g)
• 1-2 mushrooms
• 1 Carrot
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• ¼ Red Onion
• 1 tablespoon Tomato paste
• 1-2 Star Anise pods
• 1 teaspoon Cumin (Ground)
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tablespoon Fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon Paprika
• 1 stalk Lemongrass (Diced)
• Cilantro, grated parmesan (For garnish)

🔪 Step by Step Instructions

1. Marinate ¼ pound beef chuck (~200 calories) in 5 spice, soy sauce, ginger, and garlic for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
2. Turn the Instant Pot on in sauté mode and spray with cooking oil. Sear the marinated beef in the instant pot until slightly browned, then remove from Instant Pot.
3. Continue to use the Instant Pot in sauté mode and add in the sliced lemongrass, garlic, and onions. Also add in tomato paste on the side. Cooked until the garlic is aromatic and the onions have softened, and the tomato paste is caramelized, which will take about 3-4 minutes. Add in the star anise, 5 spice, pepper, cumin, soy sauce, fish sauce and paprika and cook for about a minute so that the heat releases the flavor.
4. Re add in the seared meat, along with the sliced carrots and mushrooms. Turn off sauté mode and close the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 40 min, then allow 10-15 minutes of natural release time.
5. While you're waiting for the Bo Kho to finish, weigh out and cook 1 serving of malfadine or your pasta/noodle of choice (55g at 200 calories) in salted water.
6. When beef is ready, add the malfadine into the instant pot and stir thoroughly until the noodles are coated with sauce.
7. Top with cilantro and parmesan cheese if using and serve!

🍳 Recipe