Meats

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.