“Grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves” is not an easy phrase for foreign diners to say about this dish, but let’s simplify it with the name “beef wrapped in leaves”. To make this traditional dish popular in southern Vietnam, minced beef is mixed with all kinds of spices – onion, garlic, black pepper, sugar, fish sauce, oyster sauce, MSG – before being rolled in betel leaves and grilled. However, it is best grilled over glowing charcoal.
This delicious finger food is then topped with crushed peanuts and fresh herbs, and dipped in a spicy fish sauce called mam nem. The combination of sweet, salty, aromatic, sour and crunchy makes this dish one of the most delicious foods on the planet.
Beef wrapped in piper lolot leaves is popular in the South, and there is still much debate about the origin of the dish, with some claiming that it originated in India, and further back, in the Middle East. When Middle Eastern traders began to arrive in the Bengal region of India around the 9th century, the recipe was passed down to local chefs. The dish then followed the traders to some regions of South-East Asia, and was once again passed down to the local people. The beef wrapped in piper lolot leaves changed, becoming a completely different variation when the leaves were replaced with piper lolot leaves when introduced to Vietnam.
Sydneysiders can enjoy excellent bo la lot at eateries like Gia Dinh in Marrickville. In Melbourne, try it at Viet Kitchen in Footscray, and in Brisbane, find the special bo la lot at Mister Bui Banh Mi.
Although beef wrapped in betel leaves is often translated on Australian menus as "beef wrapped in betel leaves", it is not actually betel leaves. The betel leaf is scientifically known as "piper betle". The more delicately flavoured leaf used to wrap beef is "piper sarmentosum", sometimes called wild betel.
Grilled beef with betel leaves is a favorite dish of foreign tourists. In food tour programs in Ho Chi Minh City, this dish is always included in the menu with many famous restaurants in District 10. On international culinary programs, famous food review channels also praise grilled beef with betel leaves. Recently, on the American culinary channel Best Ever Food Review Show with more than 10 million followers, there were endless compliments about grilled beef with betel leaves.
Grilled beef wrapped in betel leaves is enjoyed with vermicelli, cucumber, banana, star fruit, pickles and green vegetables, all rolled with rice paper...
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