Street food · Rolled in lá lốt
Bò lá lốt
Bò lá lốt is a Vietnamese dish of seasoned minced beef rolled in leaves of the lá lốt plant and grilled over charcoal. Over the coals the leaf blisters and gives off a peppery, slightly smoky aroma that defines the dish as much as the meat.
At a glance
- Origin
- Southern Vietnam
- Meat
- Minced beef with some fat, often with pork belly
- Leaf
- Lá lốt (Piper sarmentosum), not true betel
- Serves
- 4, about 30 rolls
- Time
- 50 min active, 80 min in total
Wild betel, not betel
Finger-sized rolls of minced beef, seasoned with lemongrass, shallot, garlic, fish sauce and black pepper, are each wrapped in a single leaf of lá lốt and grilled over charcoal until the leaf blisters and the fat sizzles. The heat releases an aroma from the leaf — peppery, slightly smoky and herbal — that defines the dish as much as the meat does.
The plant is often called betel leaf in English menus, but it is not the betel (Piper betle) chewed with areca nut. Lá lốt is Piper sarmentosum, known in English as wild betel or lolot, a ground-creeping relative of black pepper with soft, heart-shaped, glossy leaves. In Thailand it is cha phlu and is eaten raw in miang kham; in Malaysia and Indonesia it is daun kaduk.
One course of beef seven ways
Bò lá lốt is associated with the south of Vietnam, where it is sold at street grills in the evening and served in beef restaurants. It is one of the courses of bò 7 món, "beef seven ways", a southern banquet that developed during the 20th century, when beef became more available, and that is served at weddings and family celebrations. The seven courses vary by restaurant but commonly include beef cooked at the table in a vinegar hotpot (bò nhúng giấm), a steamed beef meatloaf (chả đùm), beef in caul fat (bò mỡ chài), grilled beef and bò lá lốt, and end with a beef rice porridge (cháo bò).
Wrapping meat in leaves before grilling is common across Southeast Asia, and the northern Vietnamese kitchen has its own lá lốt dishes, such as chả lá lốt, pork in lá lốt pan-fried rather than grilled.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Minced beef (chuck or brisket trimmings) | 500 g / 1.1 lb | about 15–20% fat |
| Pork belly or pork fat, minced | 100 g / 3½ oz | optional; keeps the rolls juicy |
| Lemongrass | 2 stalks | tender part only, finely minced |
| Shallots, garlic | 3 shallots (60 g / 2 oz), 3 cloves | minced |
| Fish sauce | 1½ tbsp / 22 ml | |
| Sugar | 2 tsp / 8 g | |
| Black pepper | 1 tsp | freshly ground |
| Five-spice powder or curry powder | ¼ tsp | optional |
| Neutral oil | 2 tbsp / 30 ml | for the mix and brushing |
| Lá lốt leaves | about 35, plus extras | washed, dried, stems trimmed |
| Scallion oil (mỡ hành) | 3 scallions in 60 ml / ¼ cup hot oil | for brushing after grilling |
| Roasted peanuts | 50 g / 1¾ oz | crushed |
| To serve: rice paper, rice vermicelli, lettuce, herbs, pickled carrot and daikon, mắm nêm or nước chấm |
Method
- Mix the beef, pork, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, pepper, spice powder and 1 tbsp of oil. Knead briefly until sticky and rest 20–30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Lay a leaf shiny side down, place about 1 tbsp / 15 g of filling near the stem end, and roll into a tight cylinder; the shiny side ends up outside. Tuck the tip of the leaf in or pierce it with the stem.
- Thread the rolls side by side on skewers, or place them in a grill basket, seam side down.
- Grill over medium-hot charcoal, about 15 cm / 6 in above the embers, for 6–8 minutes, turning often, until the leaves are blistered and the filling is cooked through (71 °C / 160 °F for minced beef). A pan or oven at 220 °C / 430 °F also works, though without smoke.
- Brush with scallion oil and sprinkle with crushed peanuts. Serve at once.
Caul fat, pork, or grape leaves
Some cooks add chopped mushrooms or a little minced fat to the filling; others mix pork and beef in equal parts. Bò cuốn mỡ chài, in caul fat instead of leaves, is the companion course in the bò 7 món menu. In the north, the pork chả lá lốt is pan-fried. Outside Vietnam, when lá lốt is unavailable, cooks sometimes use grape leaves or shiso, which give a different flavour.
Rice paper, herbs and mắm nêm
At the table, each diner softens a sheet of rice paper, adds lettuce, herbs such as mint and perilla, a little vermicelli, pickles and two or three rolls, wraps it and dips it in the sauce. In the south the dip is often mắm nêm, fermented anchovy sauce with pineapple, garlic and chilli; nước chấm, diluted fish sauce with lime and sugar, is the milder alternative. The dish can also be served simply over rice vermicelli as a bún bò lá lốt.
Common mistakes: lean beef, which dries out; rolling the leaf with the matte side out, so it tears and looks dull; a fire that is too hot, which burns the leaf before the meat is cooked; skipping the rest of the filling, so it crumbles; and serving minced beef underdone in the centre — food safety agencies recommend cooking minced beef to 71 °C / 160 °F.
Frequently asked questions
Is lá lốt the same as betel leaf?
No. Lá lốt is Piper sarmentosum, also called wild betel or lolot; the betel chewed with areca nut is Piper betle, a related but different plant.
What is bò 7 món?
A southern Vietnamese banquet of seven beef courses, usually including bò lá lốt, beef in caul fat, a vinegar hotpot, a steamed meatloaf and a closing rice porridge.
What sauce goes with bò lá lốt?
In the south, mắm nêm, a pungent anchovy sauce with pineapple; nước chấm, lime and fish sauce, is a milder alternative.
Sources
3
- USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Safe Minimum Internal Temperature Chart. 2023. www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/safe-temperature-chart
- Nguyen, Andrea. Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press, 2006.
- Vu Hong Lien. Rice and Baguette: A History of Food in Vietnam. London: Reaktion Books, 2016.
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