Ground beef in wild pepper leaves with nuoc cham

Serves 6

500g ground beef
2 garlic cloves
1 stalk lemongrass
100g banana shallots, minced
½ tsp salt
1 tsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
36 wild pepper leaves (la lot) or baby gem leaves

For the Nuoc Cham (makes 1 litre)

20g red chillies
20g garlic
200ml fish sauce
400ml water
200ml lemon juice
20g castor sugar
200ml white wine vinegar

In a large mixing bowl, combine the beef with all the seasoning ingredients, mixing well by hand, squeezing and slapping the meat against the inside of the bowl to tenderise it.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Gently fry the mixture in a pan until it is cooked. To make the wraps, place a leaf on a flat surface and place a generous tablespoonful of the cooked mixture onto the leaf at the stem end. Fold the top edge over the filling and fold in the right and left sides. Make sure the roll is tight, it should be about 5cm long. Repeat this until all the mixture is finished. Push 3 rolls onto skewers and brush with a little vegetable oil. Grill or sear on their flat sides for 5-6 minutes, the leaves will char slightly. When cooked, remove from the heat and finish with a little sweet soy sauce and roasted rice powder and serve with nuoc cham. 

To make the nuoc cham, finely chop the chillies and garlic and combine with the water, vinegar, fish sauce and sugar. Warm on the stove, being careful not to boil and allow the sugar to dissolve and the chilli and garlic to infuse. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before adding the lemon juice.