Grilled Minced Meat Wrapped in Wild Betel Leaves (Bò Lá Lôt)

Pinkblanket's Kitchen
Pinkblanket's Kitchen @pinkblanketskitchen
Australia

Bò Lá Lôt is a Vietnamese minced meat wrapped in wild betel leaves and then grill to perfection. It's one of Vietnamese popular Street food. Fresh or frozen leaves can be found in some Asian supermarkets. The leaves are native to many asian countries and used both raw & cooked in various dishes. Here, we noticed that it is known as Heart leaf. Others identify this as La Lot leaf, daun kaduk, lun kaduk, bai cha plu or bai som phu. Do check the label when buying as these have similar look to a rather thick, sturdy dark green Betel leaves (pan leaves) that is used as stimulant and chewed with grated betel nuts.

This wild betel leaves we use here is botanically known as Piper Sarmentosum AND the leaves chewed with betel nuts is known as Piper Betle (used as stimulant & the combination of Piper Betle and betel nut produce red liquid). So be careful when choosing the leaves 🍃 🌿

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#appetizer
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#dippingsauce
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#sauce
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#wildbetelleaves
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#bòlálôt
#mince
#mincedmeat
#grilled
#BBQ

Grilled Minced Meat Wrapped in Wild Betel Leaves (Bò Lá Lôt)

Bò Lá Lôt is a Vietnamese minced meat wrapped in wild betel leaves and then grill to perfection. It's one of Vietnamese popular Street food. Fresh or frozen leaves can be found in some Asian supermarkets. The leaves are native to many asian countries and used both raw & cooked in various dishes. Here, we noticed that it is known as Heart leaf. Others identify this as La Lot leaf, daun kaduk, lun kaduk, bai cha plu or bai som phu. Do check the label when buying as these have similar look to a rather thick, sturdy dark green Betel leaves (pan leaves) that is used as stimulant and chewed with grated betel nuts.

This wild betel leaves we use here is botanically known as Piper Sarmentosum AND the leaves chewed with betel nuts is known as Piper Betle (used as stimulant & the combination of Piper Betle and betel nut produce red liquid). So be careful when choosing the leaves 🍃 🌿

#CA2025
#CookpadApron2025
#nuoccham
#lunch
#dinner
#snack
#appetizer
#fishsauce
#dippingsauce
#lalot
#asian
#texas
#HEB
#vietnam
#vietnamese
#fingerfood
#baichaplu
#vietnamesefood
#sauce
#dip
#wildbetelleaves
#betelleaves
#daunkaduk
#bòlálôt
#mince
#mincedmeat
#grilled
#BBQ

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Ingredients

3-4 servings
  1. ✅️ A. TO BE COMBINED & MIXED
  2. 500 g- 540g minced meat (preferably with some fat)
  3. 1 stalklemongrass - white part ONLY - finely minced (TOTALLY OPTIONAL)
  4. 1small red onion - finely chopped
  5. 4 clovesgarlic - finely chopped
  6. 2 tspchicken seasoning powder or chicken bouillon (heaped)
  7. 1/2 tspground pepper powder
  8. 1 TBSPSESAME OIL or cooking oil
  9. 1small brown onion - finely chopped then sautéed to caramelize. See pic in step #4 for reference
  10. 1-2 tspsugar (optional but recommended)
  11. ✅️ B. WILD BETEL LEAVES - as needed
  12. ✅️ C. INGREDIENT VARIATIONS :
  13. 1. Instead of using fresh lemongrass, you can use lemongrass powder or OMIT lemongrass completely
  14. 2. Feel free to finely chop few of these leaves and add to the meat. You can also add other types of finely chopped herbs like coriander/cilantro, mints or thai basil to your minced meat

Cooking Instructions

  1. 1

    To be served as it is or as side. Best grilled but Alternatively you can pan grill them on the stove. To start, gather and prep all ingredients. See ingredients listed in ✅️A (above).

  2. 2

    Start by peeling & finely chop garlic and red onions. Next, finely mince lemongrass. Put aside.

  3. 3

    Next, finely chop brown onion. Heat 2 tbsp of oil.

  4. 4

    Sauté brown onion until translucent. Add 1-2 tsp of sugar. Cook until light golden. See pic below for reference. Note: Adding sugar and cooking or using brown onion is optional. You can definitely add chopped brown onion straight to your meat. We like our onion cooked this way because Cooked or caramelized onion subtly sweeten the meat. Next, add this cooked onion to your minced meat together with THE REST OF THE INGREDIENTS LISTED IN ✅️A. Combine & mix well. Keep aside for 30mins or more.

  5. 5

    Prep the leaves. Cut the leaves from the main root stems, but make sure to leave the stems on the leaves intact as you will need it later to secure the rolls. Wash, clean & pat dry the leaves. See pic for reference. NOTE: Use bamboo sticks or skewers if you plan to grill your wrapped meat. You can also grill them without the skewers, try the stove using grill pan, griddle or normal heavy bottom pan. Apart from that, broiling them in the oven is also a good alternative to grilling.

  6. 6

    To assemble, place the leaf on a flat surface with shiny/glossy side down and pointy stem up. Place sufficient amount of meat on the leaf. See pic below for reference. Roll up and punch a tiny hole using tiny sharp stick or a skewer, then insert the pointy stem to seal or secure the roll.

  7. 7

    See pic below for reference. Arrange & thread rolls on bamboo skewers for grilling or arrange them on a baking tray if you intend to broil them in the oven. If you pan grill them, using skewers is optional.

  8. 8

    We pan grilled ours. Heat your grill pan, skillet or griddle. Avoid using high heat when grilling. Very lightly brush rolls with some oil. Pan grill for 3 - 4 mins all sides, constantly turning to prevent too much charring on the leaves. The leaves will be slightly charred & the rolls are cooked when they are firm to touch.

  9. 9

    Serve these grilled rolls as side or as it is and it's best paired with homemade dipping sauce. Click on the link below for our easy homemade Vietnamese dipping sauce.

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Comments (3)

Sesimple Loralin
Sesimple Loralin @Uchu
Yeay..ada pun pun resepi ni. Nak search tapi tak ingat nama resepi 👍👍

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