Grilled Wild Betel Leaves (Bò Lá Lốt Chay)

📘 What Is Bò Lá Lốt

Bò lá lốt is a Vietnamese dish that consists of beef rolled in betel leaves and grilled over a barbecue or pan-fried. Translating the name of this dish is quite difficult, “cuốn lá lốt” would translate to betel leaves rolls, while “Bò lá lốt” would mean betel leaves beef.

Once cooked, the leaves get a subtle peppery flavor and a chewy texture. Bò lá lốt is often served rolled in rice paper with vermicelli woven, cucumber, roasted peanuts, and pineapple slices and then dipped into a sauce.

This Vietnamese dish is one of my favorites, along with Bún Chả Giò, Vegan Egg Rolls, and Bún Bò Huế.

🥣 How to Make It

This recipe is quite easy, and the only ingredient you might have to look for is wild betel leaves, but if you have Asian stores near you, that shouldn’t be a problem!

Filling

Let’s start with the filling. Here are what you will need:

• Tofu – Use firm tofu or medium tofu if you prefer a softer texture. Not a fan of tofu? Feel free to replace it with vegan ground meat or finely shredded vegan chicken for an even meatier texture!
• Betel leaves – Pick the fresh and large wild betel leaves. Most Asian grocery stores carry them. It is sold in the refrigerated section.
• Lemongrass – Lemongrass brings a fresh and lemony flavor to the rolls. You can use fresh lemongrass stalks or chopped frozen lemongrass if you want to save time.
• Vegan oyster sauce – For umami and some sweetness. You can use homemade oyster sauce or store-bought stir-fry sauce.
• Black mushrooms – These black mushrooms are sold dried and need to be rehydrated for a few minutes before use.
• Shallots and garlic
• Ground black pepper – To spice up a little bit of the filling.
• Five spice – Five-spice powder is optional, but it brings more flavor and a subtle anise aroma.
• Roasted peanuts – For topping, simply omit them for a nut-free option.

Wrapping

Now that the filling is ready. Let’s make the rolls!

1. Arrange a betel leaf on a cutting board or working surface. The shiny side faces down.
2. Place a heaping tablespoon of the tofu mixture on the bottom of the leaf.
3. Fold the right and left edges of the leaf over the tofu filling.
4. Roll it up tightly and thread the roll on a small skewer.
5. Repeat with the remaining tofu filling and betel leaves.

Cooking

To cook the betel leaves, you can either pan-fry them in a skillet for a few minutes until slightly browned or place them on a barbecue to grill them.

🫓 How to Eat It

There are a few different ways you can enjoy these rolls:

• In spring rolls: Probably the most classic way. Wet a sheet of rice paper, top with cooked rice vermicelli (or vermicelli woven), a few slices of cucumber, pineapple, fresh herbs, and one or two betel leaf rolls. Roll the rice paper tightly and dip it into the sauce. You can learn more about the dipping sauce below.
• On top of noodles or rice: These rolls make a delicious and high-protein topping for rice noodles or steamed rice.
• As is: Simply dip the rolls in your favorite dipping sauce!

🍍 Dipping Sauce

The dipping sauce is almost as important as the rolls and brings a ton of flavor. This is just one version of the sauce I am giving below, but you can definitely use your favorite dipping sauce. To prepare the sauce, you will need:

• Fermented bean paste – Also called “salted soybean sauce” or “soybean paste”, this salty sauce can be found in almost all Asian stores, or you can get soybean paste online.
• Chao – Also known as fermented tofu or fermented bean curd, you can learn how to make you own chao here, or buy chao online.
• Pineapple – For sweetness and subtle fruitiness.
• Lemongrass – For a citrusy flavor.
• Garlic – Use fresh garlic cloves. Garlic powder would not yield the same flavor.
• Chili – Optional if you want some heat.