This burger is a fun twist on bò lá lốt - grilled beef wrapped in piper leaves! The leaves are commonly used in cooking as well as traditional medicines. For this recipe, instead of using them as a wrapper, we mix the leaves into the patties along with lemongrass, garlic, and shallots. In addition, this recipe calls for Vietnamese mayonnaise sauce, most well-known for the creamy egg sauce included in bánh mì! If you’re unable to find piper leaves, replace with Thai basil or shiso.
For the burger patties:
1 tablespoon Coastal Purple Shallot
1 tablespoon Delta Lemongrass
½ tablespoon Northern Mountain Garlic, minced
1 lb ground beef
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fish sauce
8-10 betel leaves, julienned
For the Vietnamese mayonnaise:
4 egg yolks, divided
2 cups vegetable oil, divided
1/2 tbsp salt
For the scallion oil:
1 bunch scallions, finely chopped
Enough neutral oil to cover the scallions
Pinch of salt and sugar
Garnish:
1 baby cucumber, thinly sliced
1 small head of green lettuce