Bo La Lot

Prepare this easy bo la lot recipe so you will enjoy this delicious and popular Vietnamese dish without having to spend lots of money in a Vietnamese restaurant.

This dish translates to bo (= beef) in lolot leaves (= a South Asian eatable vine). For those familiar with Vietnamese food, you will recognize the word "bo" as in "pho bo": the famous Vietnamese noodle soup based on beef broth.

Add to that fried Vietnamese spring rolls, and you have 3 typical dishes you can find in Vietnamese restaurants in Malaysia (the pho bo in the food court in Ampang Park, Kuala Lumpur is my favorite.

The grilled beef in vine leaves in the picture below, where served in the Vietnamese Restaurant in Bangsar Village 1, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. Although delicious in taste, the ones I tasted in Vietnam are less dry (most likely more fat is used in Vietnam).

Lolot or La Lot is the Vietnamese name of a leaf looking like a big betel leaf. In Malaysia we call it "daun kadok", in Thailand "cha plu" or "cha ploo" and in Laos "phak i leut". It is mainly used for making leaf wrapped snacks, a cooking technique originating from the Middle East where real grape leaves are used. Since grapes aren’t that easy to grow in Vietnam, they were substituted with lolot leaves.

Vietnamese bo la lot recipe

This recipe contains palmsugar, so it is not paleo!

• 30 La Lot leaves
• Filling:
• 3 stalk lemon grass, crushed
• 1/2 pound (250 gram) minced beef
• 3 cloves garlic: minced
• 1-2 tablespoon palmsugar (brown sugar)
• 1-2 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
• 1-2 tablespoon soy sauce
• grounded black pepper
• few drops of sesame oil

How to make bo la lot

1. Combine all the filling ingredients around the lemon grass stalks and let marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
2. Roll the minced meat in the leaves: size will be about a nose-drop bottle or a wine cork. Close the leaves with a toothpick.
3. For easy grilling: pin the stuffed la lot leaves on a bamboo skewer.
4. Grill for about 6 minutes (3 minutes on each side) or until crisp.