Beef in Wild Betel Leaf Recipe (Thit Bo Nuong La Lot)

Fragrantly seasoned grilled rolls of beef wrapped up in wild betel leaf (lá lốt) are a favorite Vietnamese snack that’s great with cold beer or white wine. When the rolls are cooking, the perfume of Piper sarmentosum is mesmerizing and fills the room. Shiny on one side and matted on the other, the soft, pliable leaves don’t have much character until heat is applied to them, at which point they release their sweetly spicy, incense-like fragrance. (Many recipes suggest substitute grape leaves but what's the use? Those leaves are devoid of the fragrance that these have and that's the beauty of this special ingredient!)

Lá lốt (“lah loht”) is sold at many Vietnamese and Chinese markets on Styrofoam trays. Look for ones with healthy green color on the leaves. The heart-shaped leaves are shiny on one side and matted on the other. A few holes here and there are okay. Once home, snip off the bottom ½ inch of stem and put the leaves in a small container partially filled with water. Loosely cover with a plastic bag and refrigerate for up to four days. I’ve found that this is the best way to keep them fresh and perky.

My husband, Rory, loves beef in lá lốt and my mom taught him a nifty, old-fashioned trick for rolling them up. Instead of skewering the rolls to hold their shape and to grill them, she dispenses with the skewers and uses the leaf stem to secure the roll in place. She then broils them in the oven. No burnt up bamboo skewers to deal with. Rory is now our family’s master of making these rolls. "Even a white guy can do this," he says.

The rolls are tasty on their own, but many people like to dip in a little nước chấm sauce – the ubiquitous Vietnamese dipping sauce. I often serve these with a tangy pickle of daikon and carrot for textural and flavor contrast.

There are two seasoning options here. You can play with it by mixing up the seasonings first, tasting it and making any adjustments before adding the beef. Sun brand of curry powder, sold at many gourmet markets and even at Amazon (!), has wonderful sweet coriander and cumin notes that harmonizes super well with the betel leaves.

Makes 26 to 30 rolls, enough for 6 as a snack

1 pound ground beef, chuck preferred

 Seasoning option #1:
¼ cup minced scallion, green and white part
2 teaspoons fish sauce
Scant ½ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon Madras curry powder, Sun brand preferred

Seasoning option #2:
2 tablespoons finely minced lemongrass (about 1 medium-small stalk)
2 teaspoons Madras curry powder, Sun brand preferred
¼ cup minced scallion, green and white part
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional, if you want a firm filling that does not weep during cooking)
About 4 ounces la lot leaves with the stems attached, enough to yield 26 to 30 large leaves
1 tablespoon neutral flavored oil
1 recipe Basic Dipping Sauce (nuoc cham), made with the addition of minced garlic

1. In a bowl, combine the beef with one of the seasoning options and cornstarch. Use your fingers to mix well. Set aside to marinate while you prepare the leaves.

2. Use scissors or your fingers to detach the leaves from their center stems. Make sure to keep the leaf stem attached to the leaf. You’ll need it later for creating the rolls. Rory puts the leaves matted side facing up so they’re efficiently ready to roll and he doesn’t forget which side the meat goes on.

3. To make the rolls, put a leaf on your work surface, matted side up. Take a bit of meat (about 2 tablespoons) and use your hand to shape it into a small sausage of sorts. Place the meat on the leaf, about 1/3 of the way below the pointy tip. The length of the sausage doesn’t need to span the full width of the leaf because the leaf shrivels during cooking, Rory says. I like to get the meat to span the full width so that there’s moisture from the meat to prevent less charring during cooking. It’s your choice.

Then roll up the meat in the leaf and use the little stem to seal it up. The roll will keep its shape. Place the finished roll on a foil-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining leaves until all the beef is used. Rub a bit of oil on each roll when all of them are done.

4. To cook, position an oven rack on the top third of the oven and preheat to broil. Slip the baking sheet into the oven and broil for 6 to 8 minutes, turning them  frequently to cook evenly and prevent too much charring of the leaf. The cooked rolls will feel firm, look a bit shriveled, and be slightly charred at the edges.

Instead of broiling, you can also cook the rolls on a stove-top cast iron grill. Traditional open flame grilling often times burns the leaves up too quickly, unless you use moderately-low heat.

To grill the rolls, prepare a medium charcoal fire (you can hold your hand over the rack for only 4 to 5 seconds) or heat a gas grill to medium. Grill the rolls, with the top open most of the time so you may constantly monitor their progress and move them around to avoid burning the leaves. (The heat will go to about medium-low because you'll have the lid open.)

5. Transfer to a plate and serve with the dipping sauce. Leftovers reheat well in a toaster oven preheated to 350F.