Lan Huế

lá lốtAll you need is: lốt (a kind of veggie with heart-shaped leaves), beef, lemon-grass, onion, chili, seasoning, fish sauce and oil.

spiced beefAfter washing the “lá lốt”, put them in a basket to dry. Remember not to cut off the stem of the “lốt” leaves as you will need it later. For beef, slice and put it in a big bow. Season it with fish sauce, chili, seasoning, onion and chopped lemon-grass. Mix the stuff well with chopsticks and then leave it alone for about five minutes.

wrap it up (photo: my mom)And now, it’s time to wrap it up. Put a slice of spiced beef on the top of the leave and start to wrap it. The use of the stem is to fix the wrap and prevent it from coming apart. If you find it difficult to use the stem, you can use toothpicks instead. It’s better to break a toothpick by two to fit the size of the “bò lá lốt”.

and then pin it (photo: my mom)Once you have done with wrapping, put the “bò lá lốt” in a pan to fry it. Remember not to put too much oil. Fry until you see the “lá lốt” change its color and get crisp. Pick them out of the pan and display on a dish. You can also grill them if you don’t like oily food.

To make the “bò lá lốt” more attractive, it’s better to remove the pieces of toothpick you pinned the “bò lá lốt” earlier. This morning, I forget to remove the toothpicks so the photo of the dish does not seem nice. Besides, as the “bò lá lốt” is dark green and crispy brown, you can put some small bright color veggies on it to decorate. For me, I pick up an orange-color flower in our garden and decorate my “bò lá lốt”. Get your chopsticks ready and enjoy!
"bò lá lốt" made by mom and Lan