Vietnamese Betel Leaf Wrapped Beef (Bò Cuốn Lá Lốt)
This dish of spiced ground beef wrapped in betel leaves is a traditional party or banquet food. Juicy, smoky and fragrant — a crowd pleaser!
- Prep time
- 15 min
- Cook time
- 10 min
- Yield
- 5 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 30 wild betel/piper lolot leaves (cleaned and dried)
- 1 lb ground beef
- ⅓ cup finely chopped lemongrass
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ¼ tsp five spice powder
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- crushed roasted peanuts (optional)
- scallion oil (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Season the ground beef with lemongrass, salt, pepper, garlic, shallots, fish sauce, oyster sauce, five-spice powder and oil.
- 2
Mix the beef mixture well and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
- 3
Place a betel leaf shiny side down and spoon about a tablespoon of the beef mixture onto the pointy part of the leaf. Shape the beef into a small log.
- 4
Roll the beef mixture up towards the wider side of the betel leaf.
- 5
Once you've rolled your beef halfway up the leaf, fold the two sides of the leaf toward the center and continue rolling all the way to the end of the leaf.
- 6
Poke a small hole into the beef parcell, above the stem of the leaf, with a skewer.
- 7
Insert the stem into the hole you just made to secure the beef parcel.
- 8
Secure the beef parcels onto two bamboo skewers.
- 9
Grill the skewers for 3-4 minutes on each side.
- 10
Optional: Top the skewers with scallion oil and crushed roasted peanuts.