Banh Xeo - Vietnamese Crepes

Sue Lau's Note:

My husband loves these. They look like they have eggs in the batter, but they don't. Makes for a great light supper or brunch item.

• Total Time: 34 mins
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 4 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 5

• 1/2 lb boneless pork loin
• 20 medium shrimp
• 10 fresh cilantro stems
• 10 fresh basil sprigs
• 10 fresh mint sprigs
• 2 cups rice flour
• 1/2 cup self-rising flour
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 5 tablespoons oil
• nuoc cham sauce (1 batch; recipe ID #25375)
• red leaf lettuce

Directions:

1. Place pork loin in a saucepan; cover with water and bring to a boil over medium heat; simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes.
2. Allow pork to cool, then julienne into strips.
3. Shell and devein shrimp; slice each one in half lengthwise.
4. Rinse herbs and drain; set aside.
5. In a mixing bowl, prepare batter by mixing rice flour, self-rising flour, water, coconut milk, curry powder, sugar, salt, and green onion until smooth.
6. Divide pork, shrimp, onion, and bean sprouts into 5 separate little piles for easy access during cooking.
7. Heat 1 tbsp oil in non-stick frying pan until hot; cook pork shrimp and onion until it starts to sizzle; add 1/2 cup of batter and swirl to cover pan and get batter underneath.
8. Place one pile of bean sprouts towards the center of the crepe, then cover the pan tightly.
9. Turn the heat down to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes, then uncover and loosen edges of crepe and fold over with a spatula to form an omelette.
10. Transfer the crepe to a serving platter.
11. Repeat process with rest of batter.
12. Do not cover the cooked crepes or stack them (they will lose their crispness- they should remain light and airy).
13. To serve, place one crepe on a plate with some lettuce leaves, herbs also with a small bowl of nuoc cham.
14. The person cuts a portion of crepe, wraps it in a leaf of lettuce with some herbs, and dips it in the sauce.

Reviews

[Jeanette G]

Thank you so much for posting this recipe. I was browsing the Asian section on here and when I saw this it took me back to my childhood. I can remember all of my family sitting at the dinner table while my Mom prepared this great dish. I was so excited about this that I made it for my husband who loved it instantly! If you have an oriental market near you...they have Bahn Xeo already pre-packaged. All you have to do is add water, coconut milk and the green onion! How simple is that. They used tumeric instead of the curry powder though. Great post...thanks for the memories!

[Fluffkins]

I just bought the banh xeo mix from a local Asian supermarket to save myself the time and hassle. Have no idea how to make this stuff but was having a little bit of nostalgia from my childhood, when my mom would make this. Forgot about getting coconut milk (which she bought canned). The package says you can use regular milk - I don't think it would be as sweet. She used mushrooms, tiger shrimp and some kind of pork I can't recall - and omitted the curry powder because my siblings and I hated it. I don't like curry at all, and prefer the regular color. Studies show turmeric can reduce the chance of neurological disease such as Alzheimer's, so I may consider putting some of it in (comes with the mix, packaged separately). Instead of wrapping this in lettuce, though, we used spring roll wraps to make a "goi cuon" so to speak out of it. You can get that at the local Asian supermarket, too. It's less messy, as the banh xeo can be pretty oily.

[Mellowpuff]

Taste just like the real thing! A Vietnamese man I know serves these with an egg in the middle, but I like them as is - perhaps with a tad more curry powder. thanks for posting! (^o^)