Banh Xeo

Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes)

A crisp, golden Vietnamese rice-flour crepe scented with turmeric, filled with pork, prawns and bean sprouts, then rolled up in lettuce and fresh herbs and dunked in nước chấm. The name xèo means 'sizzle' — the sound you hear when the batter hits the hot pan.

Prep

25 min

Cook

25 min

Total

50 min

Serves

4 crepes (serves 2 as a main, 4 as a snack)

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •150 g (1 cup) rice flour, not wheat flour; do not substitute
• •1 tbsp cornstarch, helps crispness
• •200 ml (¾ cup + 1 tbsp) coconut water or water, coconut water gives a slightly sweet, traditional flavour
• •100 ml (scant ½ cup) full-fat coconut milk, from a can, shaken well
• •fine sea salt, ½
• •1 tsp ground turmeric, for colour and aroma
• •2 large spring onions, thinly sliced, green parts only
• •120 g (4 oz) pork belly or pork shoulder, thinly sliced, then cut into bite-sized pieces
• •6 medium raw prawns, peeled, deveined, halved lengthwise
• •1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus more for frying; a neutral oil with a high smoke point
• •1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• •2 cloves garlic, minced
• •150 g (5 oz) fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
• •1 head butter or green leaf lettuce, leaves separated, washed, for wrapping
• •1 bunch fresh mint, stems removed
• •1 bunch Thai basil, stems removed
• •1 bunch perilla (rau tía tô) or Vietnamese coriander, optional but very traditional
• •120 ml (½ cup) fish sauce, for nước chấm
• •120 ml (½ cup) fresh lime juice, for nước chấm
• •80 g (⅓ cup) sugar, for nước chấm
• •120 ml (½ cup) water, for nước chấm
• •2 cloves garlic, minced, for nước chấm
• •1 small Thai red chilli, finely sliced, for nước chấm
• •1 tbsp grated carrot or daikon, optional, for nước chấm

Steps

1. 1 Make the batter: whisk rice flour, cornstarch, salt and turmeric in a bowl. Pour in the coconut water, coconut milk and 100 ml (scant ½ cup) water and whisk until completely smooth with no lumps. Stir in the sliced spring onion greens. The batter should be the consistency of thin cream; add a splash more water if it is thicker. Set aside to rest for at least 20 minutes — this relaxes the flour so the crepe turns crisp rather than tough.
2. 2 Meanwhile, make the nước chấm: in a small saucepan, combine the sugar and 120 ml (½ cup) water and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, chilli and the grated carrot or daikon if using. Taste — it should be punchy, salty-sweet, sour and hot. Set aside.
3. 3 Cook the filling: heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the sliced onion and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the pork and cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring, until the pork is cooked through and lightly browned (pork belly should be 71 °C / 160 °F internally well-done). Add the prawns and cook for another 1–2 minutes until they turn pink and opaque, then transfer everything to a plate.
4. 4 Cook the bánh xèo: heat a 25–30 cm non-stick skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Add about 1 tbsp oil and swirl to coat. Ladle in roughly 90 ml (a scant ⅓ cup) of batter and immediately swirl to form a thin, even layer across the pan — the edges should look lacy and golden in 30–40 seconds. The pan should audibly sizzle when the batter hits it; if it does not, lift the pan off the heat and wait another 30 seconds before trying again.
5. 5 Working quickly, scatter a quarter of the pork, a quarter of the prawns and a handful of bean sprouts over one half of the crepe. Cover with a lid and cook for 2 minutes so the beansprouts wilt slightly and the fillings heat through, but the prawns must reach 63 °C / 145 °F internally and stay there for 15 seconds to be safe to eat.
6. 6 Uncover, fold the empty half of the crepe over the filled half to form a half-moon, and slide onto a plate. The crepe should be deep golden and crisp all over. Repeat with the remaining batter and fillings to make 4 crepes in total, adding more oil to the pan between each.
7. 7 Serve immediately with the lettuce leaves, herbs and nước chấm. To eat, tear a piece of crepe, place it in a lettuce leaf with a few mint, basil and perilla leaves, then roll or fold up and dip into the nước chấm.