Beef in Wild Betel Leaves (Bo La Lot) with Kombucha Dipping Sauce
Serves: 40-50 rolls
Ingredients
1 bunch of wild betel leaves (as pictured above)
500gms beef mince (not lean as you need some fat otherwise it is quite dry)
1 lemongrass stalk minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 eschallot minced
1 tbsp fish sauce (I use Red Boat fish sauce which was no added chemicals)
½ tsp natural sea salt
½ ground white pepper
olive oil for brushing
sliced spring onions for decorating
1 bunch of preferred lettuce
assorted Vietnamese herbs (perilla, mint, coriander, thai basil all work well)
fermented grated carrots (optional - we try and have fermented veggies with each meal and this is a great way to add some in, click here for my recipe)
8-10 skewers
For the Kombucha Dipping Sauce:
3 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce (I use Red Boat fish sauce which was no added chemicals)
2 tbsp kombucha vinegar (or white vinegar)
juice of 1-2 limes (add 1 juice of 1 lime first then taste and adjust by adding more lime)
Instructions
Wash the wild betel leaves, lettuce and herbs, set aside on a clean tea towel to dry (or spin dry careful not to bruise the betel leaves)
In a medium bowl, add the beef, minced lemongrass, minced garlic, minced eschallot, fish sauce, salt and white pepper, mix well then set aside
Make your kombucha dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together until the coconut sugar has dissolved and set aside
Select the larger betel leaves (makes for easier rolling), place the leaf shiny side down so the matt side is facing you with the tip pointing to 12 o'clock
Place 1 tsp of the beef mixture below the middle of the leaf and shape into a log
Fold in both sides as pictured
Roll the betel leaf from the bottom upwards
Your roll should look like this
If you are preparing a day ahead, place the rolls in a container, careful to ensure the tip is placed at the bottom and secured down by the weight of the roll
Otherwise, skewer the roll and ensure the tip is secured with the skewer
Repeat until all the beef is used up (5 rolls per skewer, allow about 1cm between each roll)
Heat the oven with the top element (grill) at 200 degrees celcius
Place the skewers on a lined backing tray in one layer (you will need to do a few batches)
Brush some olive oil on each roll
Bake for 8 mins, then turn over for another 6-8mins (careful not to overcook as it will dry the beef out)
Serve with some sliced spring onions scattered on top
Wrap each roll as you go with some lettuce, herbs, fermented carrots (if using) and dip in the kombucha dipping sauce
Recipe by Intuitive Food Design at https://intuitivefooddesign.com/food_recipe/beef-in-wild-betel-leaves-bo-la-lot-with-kombucha-dipping-sauce/