About this recipe
A thin rice-flour crepe, yellow with turmeric, poured into a very hot pan so it hisses — which is what the name refers to — and filled with pork, shrimp and bean sprouts. This recipe teaches the large, crisp southern version. The central style is smaller and thicker, and the closely related bánh khoái of Huế is a different dish with a different sauce.
Recipe facts
- Yield
- 4 crepes, serving 4 as a shared plate
- Prep
- 25 minutes (plus 30 minutes batter rest)
- Cook
- 30 minutes
- Total
- 85 minutes
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Spice
- Mild (heat from the dipping sauce)
Allergens Contains shellfish (shrimp), pork and fish (fish sauce). Gluten-free if the rice flour and sauces are gluten-free. Dairy-free.
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
The batter
- 1.5 cups (190 g) rice flour
- 2 tbsp (16 g) cornstarch
- 1 tsp (3 g) ground turmeric
- 1/2 tsp (3 g) fine sea salt
- 1 cup (240 ml) coconut milk
- 1.25 cups (300 ml) cold water, plus more to thin
- 3 scallions, thinly sliced
The filling
- 8 oz (225 g) pork belly or shoulder, thinly sliced
- 12 medium shrimp, about 8 oz (225 g), peeled and deveined
- 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cups (about 200 g) bean sprouts
- 4 tbsp (60 ml) neutral oil, for cooking
- Salt and black pepper
To serve
- 1 large platter of soft lettuce and mustard greens for wrapping
- 1 large handful mixed herbs — mint, perilla (tía tô), Vietnamese coriander (rau răm)
- 1 quantity nước chấm (recipe #26)
Equipment
- 10 in (25 cm) non-stick or well-seasoned skillet with a lid
- Ladle
- Mixing bowl
Method
- Whisk the rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric and salt in a bowl. Whisk in the coconut milk, then the water, until completely smooth and quite thin. Stir in the scallions. Rest 30 minutes.
- Season the pork and shrimp lightly with salt and pepper.
- Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add a quarter of the pork and cook 2 minutes, then a quarter of the shrimp and a quarter of the onion, and cook until the shrimp is just pink, about 2 minutes more. Spread the mixture evenly around the pan.
- Stir the batter, then ladle about 2/3 cup (160 ml) into the hot pan and immediately swirl it to coat the base in a thin layer. It should hiss loudly on contact.
- Scatter a quarter of the bean sprouts over one half of the crepe. Cover and cook 3 minutes.
- Uncover and cook 3–5 minutes more, until the edges lift, turn lacy and go deep golden and the base is crisp. Drizzle a little oil around the rim if it looks dry.
- Fold the bare half over the bean-sprout half to make a half-moon. Slide onto a warm plate.
- Repeat with the remaining oil, filling and batter, thinning the batter with a splash of water as needed.
- Serve at once. Diners tear off pieces, wrap them in lettuce and mustard greens with herbs, and dip in nước chấm.
Uses from this chapter
- Nước Chấm (Dipping Sauce) (Recipe #26) — Essential; make it slightly sharp
From the foundations
The book pairs this recipe with the following, from the sauces, sambals and pastes that open the collection.
The Complete Edition
Bánh Xèo (Sizzling Crepe) sits in the Vietnam chapter
The book carries this recipe in full alongside the rest of the Vietnam chapter, the pastes and dips it is built on, and the twenty-seven pantry studies that open the collection.
In review with Amazon KDP
Both editions have been submitted to Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing and are currently in review. Submitted prices are $9.99 for the kindle edition and $49.99 for the paperback. Neither is on sale yet, and prices are as submitted rather than final.