I had just come away from what was the best tasting Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake) I’d ever had, at Ngoc An Restaurant in Cabramatta, so I was inspired to attempt it in this broadcast. The two standout features of the dish from Ngoc An were that it was extra crispy, and had a dominant coconut flavour.
This first attempt sadly replicated neither, but it was still good. I was told after the fact by Trung, my Vietnamese long-time employee, that the secret ingredient to achieve jedi-level crispiness is wheat flour rather than corn flour/ tapioca flour which most recipes call for, so I’ve tweaked this write-up to reflect thus.
Vietnamese Pancake (Banh Xeo)
INGREDIENTS:
- 270g rice flour
- 90g wheat flour
- 2 cups water
- 250g coconut cream
- 1 tsp salt or 2 tsps chicken powder
- 4 Tbsps spring onion, sliced
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 500g school prawns, shell intact
- Any other seafood or sliced meat as desired
- ½ kg beansprouts
- ⅓ cup oil
METHOD:
- Combine rice flour, wheat flour, water, coconut cream, salt, spring onion and turmeric. Mix to a smooth batter.
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in a pan, then add onion slices and saute until soft.
- Add prawns and cook until done. Remove and set aside.
- Heat a little oil in pan, then ladle pancake batter and swirl to make a large, thin crepe.
- Drizzle more oil around the sides to crisp up. Sprinkle one half with prawns (plus any other filling) and beansprouts.
- Cover to cook a further 2 minutes. Remove lid and drizzle more oil to crisp up further.
- Fold in half and slide onto serving plate. Serve with lettuce, herbs and Vietnamese fish sauce.
Click here for Vietnamese fish sauce recipe AND for the Bo La Lot recipe >> https://jackiem.com.au/2017/04/04/how-to-make-bo-la-lot-wild-pepper-leaf-beef-rolls/
