The “Korean Bros” group consists of 3 Korean guys who are in love with Vietnamese cuisine, culture, and travel: Sung Rak, Jong Rak, and Dong Rin. All three of them came to Vietnam and started a restaurant business in Ho Chi Minh City.
In a video on Youtube, Jong Rak listed 3 dishes that make Koreans jealous. One of them is the beef betel leaf bread. He said that in Korea, they have bread but not processed like (beef betel leaf bread) in Vietnam.
Photo cut from video
This is a type of bread with a special filling made from hot, fragrant beef, rolled in betel leaves. In addition to grilled beef in betel leaves, the bread also has pork rinds, Vietnamese coriander, pickles, and cannot be without fatty fragrant shallots and fragrant soy sauce. Some long-time diners believe that what keeps them coming back to the bread cart is the unique flavor of the distinctive soy sauce.
What’s special is that HCM City only has one beef betel leaf bread cart located opposite Vinh Hoi apartment building (District 4) owned by Mrs. Lan. The flavor of the beef betel leaf dish of the owner is prepared in the style of the Southwestern region but adjusted to suit the people in HCM City. The meat is marinated richly, the ratio of lean meat to fat is just right, mixing them together makes the beef skewers fragrant, tender.
Furthermore, the beef betel leaf bread here has a price ranging from 15,000 VND to over 20,000 VND.
To have delicious beef betel leaf bread, the filling needs to be marinated and carefully processed.
Ingredients
- Beef: 400-500g
- Betel leaves: 100-120g
- Lemongrass: 3 stalks
- Garlic: 4 cloves
- Chili: 2 fruits
- Purple onion: 2 bulbs
- Peanuts: 100g
- Ginger: 1 bulb
- Vegetable oil: 2 tablespoons
- Seasoning salt, ground pepper: Depending on family taste
Instructions
1. Prepare ingredients: Clean the beef, mince or grind. Peel, rinse the purple onion, mince. Finely chop lemongrass, chili, ginger (if available). Pick and rinse the betel leaves, let them drain and cut into small pieces about 5-7 pieces.
2. Marinate the meat: Mix the beef with minced purple onion, garlic, lemongrass, chili, minced ginger, chopped betel leaves, 2 teaspoons seasoning salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, and 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Marinate in the refrigerator for 60 minutes.
3. Wrap the meat: Place 1 teaspoon of marinated meat in the center of the prominent surface of the betel leaf, fold the edge of the leaf and roll it into a circle, use the leaf stalk or toothpick to hold it.
4. Grilling the meat: Preheat the oven for about 5 minutes, then grill at 225 degrees C for 10 minutes. You can also use a microwave or an air fryer if you don’t have an oven. Alternatively, you can also grill over charcoal, but make sure to place the stove in a well-ventilated area for safety.
5. Complete: Roast peanuts until fragrant, peel, crush. Sprinkle peanuts on top of the grilled beef in betel leaves after grilling.
Grilled beef in betel leaves is delicious and attractive when served with rice vermicelli, rice noodles, or bread and hot rice. Wish you success with this dish.
When cooking grilled beef in betel leaves, you need to pay attention to the following points to make the dish more attractive:
1. Choose fresh ingredients: The beef should have a deep red color, no strange smell, and have elasticity when pressed. Betel leaves should be chosen without tears, dark green color, and large leaves for easy rolling and fragrant when grilled.
2. Marinate the meat for the right amount of time: To make the beef more flavorful and flavorful, marinate the meat in the refrigerator for at least 60 minutes.
3. Do not grill for too long: Grilling for too long can make the beef dry and lose its natural sweetness.
4. Use minced pork fat: Mixing minced beef with a little minced pork fat helps the beef stay moist and retain its tenderness when grilling.
5. Check for doneness: The betel leaves after grilling will have a beautiful green color, not too dry or burnt.
Compiled
