Cha La Lot/ Fragrance leaf- wrapped Pork

This is a classic dish from Northern Vietnam. The lovely green Lot leaves with a delicate heart shape, known in English as Piper leaves, give a special fragrance when fried in oil or grilled over wood charcoal.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound of fresh ground pork

4 green onions, finely chopped

3 tablespoons finely chopped shallot

1 teaspoon ground pepper

1 tablespoon fish sauce

20-30 Lot leaves

1/2 cup canola oil or any healthy cooking oil

Directions:

Place the ground pork, chopped green onions, chopped shallot, pepper, and fish sauce in a bowl and mix well with your hands or a fork or chop sticks. Set aside tolet the pork marinate.

While the pork marinates, rinse the Lot leaves with cold water and dry them with a clean dish towel or paper towel. Cut the tips of the stems diagonally to get sharp skewer-like ends.

Place a Lot leaf on your cutting board, with the dull side facing up and the stem end closest to you. Fold both sides toward the center of the leaf, allowing space between them. Place a tablespoon of the marinated pork near the top of the leaf, and roll toward the stem. Stick the pointed end of the stem into the roll to secure it. The finished rolls will be open at both ends, and their size will depend on how deeply you folded in the sides of the leaves.

Continue with the remaining pork and Lot leaves.

Pour the oil into a nonstick frying pan or wok. (Choose a size of pan or wok that will allow the oil to come about 1/3 of the way up the rolls when they're placed close together in the pan, as shown in the photo above.) Heat the oil on medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes, then place the rolls in the pan and fry them for about 3-5 minutes on each side. You will smell the fragrance of the Lot leaves and the exposed ends of the rolls will turn a light golden brown.

Serve the rolls hot or warm with soy sauce to dip them into. If you like spicy food, add some chili-garlic sauce (sriracha sauce) or finely chopped fresh chile to the soy sauce.

Tips:

• It is better to fry the rolls in a nonstick wok rather than a frying pan to prevent the hot oil from spattering onto your hands while frying.

• You can also cook the rolls on a charcoal grill. Make sure that the fire is not too hot, and brush the rolls with a little oil before you put them on the grill.

First Step

Dear Friends,

For several years, I have wanted to write a cookbook using my mother's recipes and the recipes I have taught in my cooking classes. However, my hectic life leading tours in Vietnam and shuttling back and forth between Vietnam and Canada has made working on a book impossible  So now I have decided to settle down in Canada for a while so that my dream of a cookbook can finally happen. As my first step, I want to create a "playground" on the internet where you can join me and comment on the recipes so I can make them better. Thank you all in advance! 

Special thanks to my dear friend, Amelia Hard, a great American chef from Portland, Oregon, U.S.A., who has been working with me since my first cooking class in America and will continue to work with me until the book is finished. My wonderful friend Mary Pierce in Portland introduced me to Amelia, who gave me great help with my "Beyond Pho" cooking class at the In Good Taste Cooking school.  Amelia and I are eager to bring together our knowledge and energy to create a cookbook that will introduce English-speaking cooks to delicious, healthy Northern Vietnamese Cuisine. I will use the profits from the book to continue to build traditional houses and schools in a remote region of Vietnam, a project which my sisters and I, with the help of my American "sisters" Sarah and Faith Fisher, started a couple of years ago. 

I look forward to your comments and help as I move forward on this new adventure!

Best wishes,

Diep