Vietnamese Crispy Crepes - Banh Xeo
Banh xeo is a popular street food that is sold all over Vietnam. These thin and crispy savoury crepes are served with lettuce, herbs and nuoc mam dipping sauce. A great recipe to wow your friends for lunch or dinner.
- Prep time
- 20 min
- Cook time
- 50 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 200 gm rice flour
- 50 gm corn starch
- 3 spring onions, (chopped finely)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 300 gm pork belly / leaner cuts / chicken / leftovers (cut into thin slices)
- 300 gm prawns, (deveined, peeled and cut into halves lengthways)
- 1 medium brown onion, (cut into thin slices)
- 1 bag bean sprouts, (washed)
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Vietnamese dipping sauce
- 2 baby cos lettuce or your choice
- 1 bunch coriander, ((optional))
- 1 bunch Thai basil, ((optional))
- 2 chillies, (roughly chopped (optional))
Instructions
- 1
Make the Vietnamese dipping sauce first and then place it in the fridge. Please follow this link for the Vietnamese dipping sauce recipe.
- 2
Combine all the batter ingredients in a large bowl and whisk thoroughly. Cover with cling wrap and set aside until ready for frying.
- 3
Prep the pork, prawn, brown onion and spring onion.
- 4
In a fry pan on medium high heat, add a tablespoon of oil and sweat the brown onion for 2 minutes. Set aside in a bowl.
- 5
Add another tablespoon of oil to the fry pan and add the pork on medium high. Cook the pork until done then set aside in a bowl.
- 6
Repeat the same process with the prawns.
- 7
Place the 4 bowls containing the cooked pork, prawn, onion and batter next to your stove top.
- 8
If serving the crepes all at once, then preheat the oven to 100 C / 200 F. (Note 2)
- 9
Add a 1/4 tsp of oil to a fry pan on medium high and spread it out evenly. (Note 3)
- 10
Use the ladle to stir the batter and then use the 1/4 measuring cup to dip into the batter. Pour the measured batter into the ladle. (Note 4)
- 11
In one hand, hold the fry pan and tilt it away from you. Pour the batter on one side of the fry pan and swirl it around so that the batter is running around near the rims of the fry pan. Then tilt the fry pan so that the remaining batter flows into the middle. (See pictures and video demonstration)
- 12
Using your ladle, cover any holes that have formed in your banh xeo / crepe with batter.
- 13
After a minute add the onions, pork, prawns and bean sprouts on one side of the crepe and allow to cook for a further 5 minutes.
- 14
After 5 minutes, check the bottom of the crepe by lifting one side up with an egg flipper. If it feels crispy and there is a tinge of brown on the crepe, then flip one side of the crepe over so that it looks like a half circle.
- 15
Serve the crepe immediately or place on a wire rack and into a preheated oven at 100 C / 200 F.
- 16
Place the washed lettuce and herbs on a plate in the middle of the table.
- 17
Give everyone a dipping bowl filled with nuoc mam cham dipping sauce. Include a teaspoon in case your guests would like to spoon the sauce in instead of dipping.
- 18
Serve the banh xeo / crepes on individual plates.