Grilled Chicken Wrapped in Betel leaves: Vietnamese Inspired Recipe

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken Wrapped In Betel Leaves

Grilled spicy chicken wrapped in betel leaves is a Vietnamese inspired recipe, the inspirational authentic version called Bo La Lot using ground or minced spiced beef  and wrapped with wild betel (Piper Sarmentosum) before grilled. The minced beef seasoned with a plenty of spice and herbs like lemongrass, scallion, ginger, chili and drizzled with fish sauce like commonly vietnamese cuisine. Instead using wild betel leaves or daun cabe jawa or daun kadok, i’m using betel leaves (Piper Betle) or daun sirih in Bahasa Indonesia with a strong pungent tea and peppery hint when the leaves grilled over the charcoal or frying pan.

Vietnamese Grilled Chicken with lemongrass recipe using betel leaf. Betel plants originated from Southeast Asia and has been cultivated for thousands of years. Betel leaves extracted for its antioxidants and active enzimes and used for medicinal healing, stimulants, cosmetic industries, gargle solutions and even breath fresheners. In dentistry, beside the medicinal purpose of betel leaves extract, the execessive routine use like chewing betel with areca nuts clinically proven  provoked a benign oral tumor and lead to malignant oral cancer. Fortunately, this practice was rarely seen but on the elder persons like our grandparents era. All parts of the betel plant are edible, but the young leaves is preferred for direct consumptions for it’s tender texture  and milder flavour.

Vietnamese Betel Leaf Wrapped Grilled Chicken

Betel leaves is edible and used to be a wrapper for grilling meats or seafood. To prepare the betel leaves for wrapped the seasoned chicken, you should defrost (if using the frozen) and clean it from any debris first, then lay it with glossy side facing down. Spoon out a tablespoon full of meat near the end of the leaves and shape accordingly. Roll the base over making sure that the length of the meat doesn’t exceed the width of the leaf and roll it out.  Once the roll is come to the base of the betel leaf stem, carefully puncture in the  middle of the  the leaves with a toothpick to insert it’s stems and secure the end of the roll.

Stir Fry Chicken Wrapped in Betel Leaves with Tofu, Bean Sprout and Carrot, Served with Asian Red Recie

Grilled chicken in betel leaved wrapped is usually served by it’self or alongside with dipping sauce, typically nuoc nam or sweet and sour sauce, peanut sauce  or kicking Tuong Ot Xa or Vietnamese chilli and lemongrass sauce. You can served it with noodle soup, or thinly sliced and topped over vermicelly or nasi goreng. Beside, i like to use the betel leaves wrapped chicken as a ‘sausage’ that suits for stir frying with vegggies like bean sprout, carrot and also with tofu.

Vietnamese Recipe : Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wrapped in Betel Leaves

I love almost echnic and traditional food like this, one of my fellow friends said that i had an international taste buds.From the most western to the most eastern ethnic ingredient, from homemade charcuterie to fermented durian (tempoyak). I love fancy plating of daily dish to the rarest and finest spice and herbs, somehow i bring so much fun of foraging (in the real nature world) to surfing on internet to bring the closely-authentic dish. Well, the truth is i’m happy to surprised my fellow readers with my upcoming recipes. Just like my Vietnamese Inspired Recipe: Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wrapped in Betel Leaves

Grilled Chicken Wrapped in Betel Leaves Vietnamese Recipe

Grilled Chicken Wrapped in Betel Leaves Vietnamese Recipe:

Ingredients :

• 1 package of fresh or frozen betel leaves (about 20-30 leaves)
• 2 tbsp oil for pan frying or grilling
• 250 gr minced chicken meat (you can also use beef, pork or a mixture)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 2 shallots, finely minced
• 2  lemon grass (use only the soft white inner part), finely minced
• 1 stalk scallion, finely minced
• 2 cayenne/ chili pepper, deseeded, finely minced
• 2 teaspoons of fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
• salt, sugar and white peppercorn powder to taste

Instruction :

• In a large bowl, combine chicken meat with garlic, shallots, lemongrass,scallion, chilli, fish sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper and salt and mix well and set aside in fridge and prepare leaves.

• Put the glossy side of the betel leaf down and tablespoon full of meat near the end of the leave and shape accordingly. Roll the base over making sure that the length of the meat doesn’t exceed the width of the leaf.

• Once the roll is come to the base of the betel leaf stem, carefully puncture in the  middle of the  the leaves with a toothpick and insert it’s stems and secure the end of the roll

• When you finish rolling several, fixed the roll by inserting two  metal or bambo skewer in ech end of the rolled spice chicken just like making a kebab

• You can pan frying, broil or even baked it until done
• Discard the skewer and served the Vietnamese Grilled Chicken Wrapped in Betel Leaves with Tuong Ot Xa or Vietnamese chilli and lemongrass sauce

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Deep Fried Marble Goby Soon Hock with Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce Recipe

Deep Fried Marble Goby Soon Hock with Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce

Spicy chilli and lemongrass sauce or Tuong Ot Xa is popular condiment in Vietnamese cuisine. Even the name is chilli and lemongrass, this kickin sauce consist a lot of ingredients. Basic vietnamese style consist chilli, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots. Beside, rice vinegar, fish sauce, palm sugar and sometimes dried prawn added to enhanced the flavour. For making a pleasant chilli and lemongrass sauce texture, i use only the soft white inner part of the lemongrass. Tuong Ot Xa can be served as a condiment for noodle, grilled protein, or even steamed fish. I like to make a couple jar of this chilli and lemongrass sauce and using it for quicky chicken stir fry, mushrooms stir fry or nasi goreng (fried rice).

Vietnamese Lemongrass & Chilli Sauce served with Deep Fried Soon Hock Marble Goby Fish and Pickled Shredded Cucumber & Carrot

Marble Goby Fish or Oxyeleotris marmorata, the marbled sleeper, marbled gudgeon, or Soon Hock in Cantonese. Betutu, ketutu, betutu, bakut, bakutut, belosoh , boso, boboso, bodobodo, ikan bodoh, gabus bodoh, ikan sioto, ketutuk, ikan malas, ikan hantu or ghost fish in Indonesian lives in the Mekong and Chao Praya basins, rivers and other water bodies in Malaysia, Singapore, Indochina, Philippines and Indonesia. Marble goby fish is famous among indonesia chinese descent for it’s pricey succulent meat. This largest freshwater goby can reach 10 kg in suitable inviroment. Though it’s had some scarry looks, it so delicacy hand the high ratio of albumin protein can help u healing your wound. Steaming it’s the best way to preserve the natural flavour of this fish, yet it’s so simple, healty and delicacy. But since my sister not really like steamed fish, she asked me to deep fried it. Make sure you set the fire at the highest and put the fish right after the oil reach smoking hot. This technique make the fish skin is crispy and the flessh is still moist and succulent.

Deep Fried Fish with Spicy Vietnamese Style Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce

This species is an economically important fish in Southeast Asia, especially in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia. It is highly popular among the Chinese community due to its fine texture, tasty white flesh and is believed to have healing properties. It is said, best eaten after surgeries or childbirths. In Malaysia, commercialization of this type of fish is not widely established. Demands are largely dependent on wild populations thus fetching high prices in the market. Marble goby derived from the marble stone colored skin. This fish is ultimately pricey because it’s white and succulent meat and rarely farm raised because the fish neglect a commercial pellet. Marble goby like live catch for their prey and it’s become a cost production problems.

Vietnamese Spicy Chili and Lemongrass Sauce with Deep Fried Fish (Sun Hock or Marble Goby)

Live Marble Goby Fish, Ikan Betutu or Ikan Ketutu

Angry looks of Marble Goby Fish, Soon Hock, Sun Hok, Ikan Betutu or Ikan Malas

Expensive Marble Goby Fish Rp.320.000 (32 USD ) per Kg

Deep Fried Marble Goby or Soon Hock Fish Recipe:

• 1 Medium size marble goby or soon hock fish, scaled, gutted, buterflied
• 1/2 kafir lime juice
• a pinch of turmeric powder
• salt and pepper to taste

How to Make Deep Fried Marble Goby or Soon Hock Fish :

• Season the fish with salt, pepper, kaffir lime juice and turmeric powder
• Let it marinated for about 30 minutes in the fridge
• Drain the fish well
• Heat up enought oil for deep frying in a deep fryer until smoking hot
• Put the fish into the deep fryer and deep fried it for about 7-8 minutes until the skin is nice golden brown
• Drain the fish from the oil

Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce Recipe :

• 1/2 cup red cayenne chili peppers
• 1/2 cup red bird eyes chili peppers
• 6 lemongrass stalks, use the soft white part only
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 6 shallots
• 1 tbsp dried prawn*optional
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 4 tbsp or more vegetable oil
• Salt, pepper and palm sugar for taste
• 1 cup Water

How to make Spicy Vietnamese Chilli and Lemongrass Sauce:

• Soak the dried dried prawn, drain and process it until formed fine paste, set aside
• Process the all the chilli, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots until formed a fine paste, set aside
• Heat up the oil in a heavy bottom sauce pan until fragrant
• add the chilli paste and saute another 3 minutes
• Add the vinegar, fish sauce and season with salt, pepper and palm sugar
• Add the water and bring it to boil, simmer it until the liquid evaporates and the sauce thicken.

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