Bò Lá Lốt (Grilled Beef in Betel Leaves)

Ingredients

• 2 lbs medium ground beef
• Betel (lá lốt) leaves — whole for wrapping, plus broken ones chopped for the marinade
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp chicken bouillon
• 2–3 tbsp lemongrass, chopped
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Pepper
• Oil, for brushing
• Metal or bamboo skewers

Directions

• Marinate the ground beef with the chopped betel leaves, diced onion, garlic, chicken bouillon, lemongrass, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and pepper.
• Wash and pluck the whole betel leaves, leaving a short segment of stem to hold the roll.
• With the shiny (waxy) side facing outward, roll a portion of the beef mix up tightly in a leaf, then stick the stem into the roll to secure it.
• Thread several rolls onto a skewer and brush both sides with oil.
• Grill (or pan-fry) until the beef is cooked and the leaves are nicely crisp.

NOTE: Bò lá lốt is grilled beef wrapped in heart-shaped lá lốt (betel) leaves — look for them in the leaf/herb section of an Asian grocery (one store labeled them "pocket leaves"). Tuck the leaf stem into the roll to hold it together. From anguswannnn on Instagram.