Nyob Zoo All!
Spring, Summer, Fall… The perfect weather for a nice lunch/bento box. I wanted to share with you a classic Hmong combo: Shredded smoked beef & rice. I’m taking these two combos and making them into rice balls to pack on a road trip, long haul flight, a picnic, or for my lunch. It’s so easy to make and super flavor! I hope you can give it a go if you have these ingredients. Happy Cooking!
Main Ingredients
Smoked beef or what we like to call in Hmong Leeg as Nqaj Nyuj Qhaa. Nqaj Nyuj means beef and Qhaa refers to as the cooking method. Beef is sliced into strips, seasoned, and cooked over wood charcoal for over 1 hr to dry it out a bit and give it a nice smoky flavor. In the Hmong culture, this is a way for us to preserve and store beef when a big chunk of it is given to us by a family member during an event/special occasion. It can also be made any time of the year when we crave it 🙂
Smoked beef is stored in a bag and be put into the freezer so it can used in soups, stir fry, salads, or just eat it as is. In this case, we will be using it to make the rice balls.
For the smoked beef recipe, check it out here: https://chawjcreations.com/hmong-smoked-beef/
The smoking process 
Stored in the freezer and take what you need out whenever you want to use it.
To make shredded beef, I like to cook it even more in the oven or air fryer to get it dry and get it a little bit darker. That way it’s easier to blend and shred easier. 
Mix with fresh organic green onions, cilantro, peppers, and garlic. 
Season with mushroom powder, fish sauce, and salt 
Put everything in a mortar n pestle 
This is great as is already. 
I’m using Jasmine rice for this dish. The fragrance of the rice goes well with the smoked beef. You can also use calrose rice too. 
Measure the rice with the “rice cup”
You can also make purple rice by adding black rice to calrose rice
Add in the meat mixture and mix well. Then form into balls.
Store it in a lunch box, bento box, whatever you desire.
Enjoy while fresh! So savory, herbaceous, and delicious.
Enjoy!
-Cindy Her (C.HerCreations)
Shredded Smoked Beef Rice Balls
Ingredients
For the rice
- 2 "rice cups" jasmine rice (Rice cups is equivalent to 3/4 US measuring cup)
- 3 "rice cups" water
Or...If you want to make purple calrose rice
- 2 "rice cups" calrose rice or sushi rice (NOT STICKY RICE)
- 1 Tbsp black rice
- 3 "rice cups" water (Rice cups is equivalent to 3/4 US measuring cup)
For the shredded beef mixture
- 8 oz smoked beef (rough chopped)
- 2 whole garlic cloves
- 1 whole Thai chili pepper (or more)
- 1/2 tsp salt (I use sea salt)
- 1/4 tsp mushroom seasoning powder (optional) but I add for extra umami
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro (the more organic the better for better flavor)
- 1/4 cup chopped green onions (the more organic the better for better flavor)
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
Instructions
For the Jasmine rice
- Rinse the rice 3 times and drain well. Then add in 3 "rice cups" water and place into your rice cooker and press rice cook. Let the rice cooker do it's thing while you prep the meat.
Or...If you want to make purple calrose rice
- Add the black rice in with the calrose rice. Rinse the rice 3 times and drain well. Then add in 3 "rice cups" water and place into your rice cooker and press rice cook.
Cooking the smoked beef in the oven
- Cut the smoked beef into smaller chunks. Continue cooking the beef in the oven under broil 400' for about 10 minutes, flip them over and then another 5-10 minutes on the other side. It should be nice and dryish.
Cooking the smoked beef in the air fryer
- You can also cook the beef in an air-fryer under roast 350'F for 8 minutes, stir and another 5-8 minutes.
Shredding the beef/finishing
- Take the beef out after it has cooked and and let it cool slightly. Once cooled, place into a food processor or a blender. Blend the beef small portions at a time until it shreds apart (depending how big your blender or processor is add more or less beef for easy blending) Shred and blend all the beef and pour into a bowl. Set aside.
- In a mortar n pestle, add in the chili pepper, garlic, along with the salt and mushroom seasoning. Smash until the peppers are all smashed up. Then add in the shredded beef, cilantro, green onions, and fish sauce. Mix well and taste. It will be a tad bit salty because it will balance the unflavored cooked rice. Add all the cooked rice into a bowl along with all the seasoned shredded smoked beef. Mix well and form into balls. You can form into your preferred size. Pack it into a lunch box, eat it right away, put it into a ziplock bag, and or pack it however you like to. Enjoy while the rice is still soft and tender.
