Preparation time: 50 minutes
Resting time: 3 hours
Servings: 12
What is this weird omelet? Even though it looks like it, bánh xèo does not contain eggs! This crispy Vietnamese pancake, which name refers to the sound that the batter makes when it is poured into the hot pan, gets its yellow color from the turmeric powder it is made of. It is folded in half and generously garnished with pork, shrimp, mung beans and bean sprouts. Yummy!
INGREDIENTS
- Oil
Batter*:
- 255g rice flour
- 85g wheat flour
- 2-3 tsp turmeric
- 230ml water
- 400ml coconut cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 spring onion
Garnish:
- 450g shrimps
- 680g pork belly
- 1 yellow onion
- 680g bean sprouts
- 250g mung beans
Vegetables:
- 1 head caỉ xanh mustard or lettuce
- 1 bunch mint
- 1 bunch cilantro (optional)
- 1 bunch tía tô perilla (optional)
Dipping sauce:
PREPARATION
Batter
Combine all the ingredients for the batter, except the spring onion, in a large bowl and let it rest for at least 3 hours. Slice the spring onion and add it to the batter just before cooking the pancakes.
Garnish
Soak or steam the mung beans until soft. Boil the pork until cooked through, then cut it into thin slices. Wash the bean sprouts and vegetables.
Cooking
Slice the yellow onion thinly and remove the head of the shrimps. Place your pan on medium-high heat, add 1-2 teaspoons of oil and a few slices of onions. Immediately add some shrimp and pork slices. Sauté while stirring until the ingredients are very lightly browned.
Pour a ladle of batter into the pan. Quickly tilt and rotate it so that the batter is evenly spread. Add more batter if the ladle was not enough to cover the pan.
Add some mung beans, bean sprouts and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the bean sprouts are slightly cooked. The batter should also be slightly cooked and transparent around the edges.
Remove the lid, lower the heat to medium and wait for the pancake to become crisp. Fold it in half like an omelet, then transfer it to a plate before serving it immediately.
How to eat bánh xèo
Banh xeo are eaten with hands and served with green vegetables.
1. Cut a piece of bánh xèo using your hands.
2. Wrap the piece of bánh xèo in a leaf of lettuce or mustard. Add a little of each of the herbs. Mint is the only essential herb when eating bánh xèo, with cilantro and Vietnamese perilla being the other commonly used ones.
3. Dip the wrapped bánh xèo in nuoc cham sauce (or any other Vietnamese sauce). You can also use a spoon to pour in the sauce and control its amount.
Enjoy your meal!
* Suggestion
Do you want to save time? Then you can also use our special bánh xèo flour mix! For that, replace the batter ingredients with:
- 400g special bánh xèo mix
- 900ml coconut milk
- 2-3 tsp turmeric
- 1 spring onion