Vietnamese pancake - Bánh Xèo
Ingredients - Serves 4 pancakes
Dipping sauce
- Fish sauce (Nuoc Mam), 4 tablespoons
- Water, 4 tablespoons
- Lime juice, 4 tablespoons (“nước chanh”)
- Sugar, 4 tablespoons
- Minced red long chili (medium spicy), 2 teaspoons
- Chopped garlic, 2 teaspoons
- Mix all ingredients, stir well and set aside.
Batter
- Rice powder, 150 g (“bột gạo”)
- Turmeric powder, 2.5 teaspoons (“bột nghệ”)
- Salt, 1 teaspoon
- Coconut milk, 300 ml (“nước cốt dừa”)
- Chopped spring onion, 10 g (2 stems) (“hành lá”)
- Mix first the rice powder, salt and turmeric. Add the Coconut Milk and whip until having a smooth batter and then add the chopped spring onion.
Stuffing
- Sliced onion, 80 g
- Peeled Prawn 100 g
- Sliced pork belly (2 cm), 300 g
- Fish sauce for sauté, 1 teaspoon for each pancake
- Steamed Mung bean, 100 g (“đậu xanh”)
- Bean sprout, 200 g (“giá”)
Cooking oil, about 2 to 3 tablespoons for each pancake
Accompaniments
Mustard leaves, 8 pieces (“cải bẹ xanh”)
Lettuce, 8 pieces (“xà lách”)
Shiso leaf, fish mint, Mint leaf, 12 leaves of each (“tía tô, diếp cá, húng cây”)
Method
- Make hot the wok with medium low fire. Sauté onion and pork with 1 tablespoon of oil until half cooked and then seasoning with 1 teaspoon of fish sauce. Take out from the wok and clean the wok.
- Use a ladle to pour the batter into the cleaned wok in circle and then turn the wok around to make sure the batter has a round shape and reach to 2cm from the edge of the wok. Minimize fire and then add the prawns, pork and onion.
- Sprinkle Mung bean, add bean sprout in and then cover with a lid for 2 minutes to make sure everything inside are cooked.
- Uncover and then wait until the pancake goes dried (about 5mn).
- Add more 1 tablespoon of oil around the work under the edge of pancake.
- Use a spatula to fold the pancake in 2 parts and then transfer into an individual plate.
- Serve hot with the accompaniments and dipping sauce.
