Bánh xèo, a popular Vietnamese street food translates to "sizzling", because of the sound it makes as it cooks in the hot pan. This is a second updated crepes a la Saigon recipe on my blog, inspired by yet another Vietnamese-Aussie chef Luke Nguyen. This is my preferred version because it is lighter in coconut flavour vs. Nhut Huynh's rich coconut cream banh xeo recipe. Its signature crispy, crunchy but foldable crepe is made with a batter of rice flour, potato flour (my own adaptation for extra crispiness), turmeric for colour and coconut cream (yup you read right, no eggs). Salivating at the cooking photos in Luke's cookbook Street Food Asia, I couldn't resist getting the ingredients and making it for a family Thanksgiving brunch. This kind of bean sprouts-mung bean-shrimp-pork filling deliciousness served with seasoned fish sauce nước mắm cham and fresh herbs inspires gratefulness at the table all around. A good start with a nod to our family heritage (my husband's side) on a traditional Thankful Canadian occasion! Feeling blessed!
Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes (Bánh xèo)- (adapted from Luke Nguyen)
Makes 4 to 6 crepes
1/3 cup dried mung beans, soaked overnight and drained
2 Tbsp. oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
300 g raw shrimps, peeled and cleaned
200 g pork belly, skin removed or pork shoulder, thinly sliced
salt and ground white pepper
2 large handfuls bean sprouts, washed and drained well
2 green onions, mostly green tops, thinly sliced
Pancake Batter:
3/4 cup rice flour
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. potato starch (this is what gets the crepe crispy)
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chilled carbonated water
3/4 cup coconut cream (my sis-in-law swears by brand Savoy)
Garnish: Green lettuce leaves, herbs- Thai basil, mint leaves, Vietnamese coriander (rau ram), sliced cucumber
Nước mắm chấm (seasoned fish sauce): see note below
Place mung beans in a steamer basket and set over a saucepan with water, cover and steam for 20 minutes or until soft.
NOTE: To make Nước mắm cham: i) Dissolve 1/4 cup granulated sugar in 1/3 cup boiling water; ii) Mix in 3 Tbsp. fish sauce and 3 Tbsp. white vinegar or fresh lime juice; leave to cool; iii) To season, add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and 1 tsp. of Vietnamese chili sauce (sambal oelek) or 1 finely chopped Thai or hot red chili to taste.
Season prepared shrimp and pork with a little salt and ground white pepper. Make the pancake batter by sifting the flours into a bowl, add the salt and turmeric and whisk well. Pour the soda water and coconut cream into the bowl and whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan (best to use crepe pan if you have one). Add one minced garlic and saute with shrimps for two minutes or until cooked. Set aside and repeat with pork, then remove from pan.
Lightly oil a frying/crepe pan and place it over medium heat. Sprinkle green onions in the pan and pour 1/4 batter into the centre. Holding the handle, swirl the mixture to spread over pan. The pancake should be quite thin. Scatter the mung beans, shrimps, pork and bean sprouts over half the pancake. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 4-5 minutes, or until pancake is crisp and browned. Using a spatula, fold the pancake in half and slide onto a large plate. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
To serve, you can cut the pancake into several pieces and wrap in lettuce leaves, herbs and dunk into the nuoc cham. Or you can tear up lettuce and herbs over the pancake, pour the sauce and eat it straight! Whichever you decide, I can guarantee you it will be utterly delicious!
2 green onions, mostly green tops, thinly sliced
Pancake Batter:
3/4 cup rice flour
1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp. potato starch (this is what gets the crepe crispy)
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup chilled carbonated water
3/4 cup coconut cream (my sis-in-law swears by brand Savoy)
Garnish: Green lettuce leaves, herbs- Thai basil, mint leaves, Vietnamese coriander (rau ram), sliced cucumber
Nước mắm chấm (seasoned fish sauce): see note below
Place mung beans in a steamer basket and set over a saucepan with water, cover and steam for 20 minutes or until soft.
NOTE: To make Nước mắm cham: i) Dissolve 1/4 cup granulated sugar in 1/3 cup boiling water; ii) Mix in 3 Tbsp. fish sauce and 3 Tbsp. white vinegar or fresh lime juice; leave to cool; iii) To season, add 2 finely chopped garlic cloves and 1 tsp. of Vietnamese chili sauce (sambal oelek) or 1 finely chopped Thai or hot red chili to taste.
Season prepared shrimp and pork with a little salt and ground white pepper. Make the pancake batter by sifting the flours into a bowl, add the salt and turmeric and whisk well. Pour the soda water and coconut cream into the bowl and whisk until a smooth batter is formed. Let rest for 10 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan (best to use crepe pan if you have one). Add one minced garlic and saute with shrimps for two minutes or until cooked. Set aside and repeat with pork, then remove from pan.
Lightly oil a frying/crepe pan and place it over medium heat. Sprinkle green onions in the pan and pour 1/4 batter into the centre. Holding the handle, swirl the mixture to spread over pan. The pancake should be quite thin. Scatter the mung beans, shrimps, pork and bean sprouts over half the pancake. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 4-5 minutes, or until pancake is crisp and browned. Using a spatula, fold the pancake in half and slide onto a large plate. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
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| Pour some batter, lift pan and swirl until evenly thinly coated. |
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| Crispy but pliable for an awesome fold! |
To serve, you can cut the pancake into several pieces and wrap in lettuce leaves, herbs and dunk into the nuoc cham. Or you can tear up lettuce and herbs over the pancake, pour the sauce and eat it straight! Whichever you decide, I can guarantee you it will be utterly delicious!
My twins were happy campers lapping up this savoury fresh pancake!
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| Eat is straight up with herbs and nuoc cham on top. |
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| Or wrap crepe pieces with lettuce in parcels and dip in nuoc cham. This crepe got the extra extra crispy treatment :) |
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