Recipe: crispy Vietnamese pancakes
Bánh xèo: you can find these crispy pancakes with coconut milk all over the streets of Vietnam, but with this recipe from the book Miljuschka’s Street Food Vietnam, you can easily make them at home. Once you get the hang of it, this will become a favorite recipe. Just wait and see.
The rice flour makes these pancakes incredibly crispy, while the sparkling water makes them wonderfully light. The best of both worlds. For this recipe, you need Vietnamese braised pork belly, which you may not always have at home. I certainly don’t. If you really want to go all out, make this Vietnamese pork belly, but you can also leave it out. They are already delicious with shrimp alone—and healthy too.
Method
1. In a bowl, mix the rice flour, turmeric, coconut milk, sparkling water and fish sauce. Stir well until there are no lumps. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, finely chop the spring onions and slice the pork belly. Heat a frying pan with a heavy base over the heat. Add a tablespoon of oil, followed by a ladleful of batter (approximately 65 grams). Move the pan so the batter is evenly distributed. Cook the pancake for about 2 minutes.
3. Spread a handful of bean sprouts, some shrimp, spring onion and slices of pork belly over the top. Cook the pancake for another 2–3 minutes, until the edges turn brown and crisp. Fold the pancake in half and drain on a wire rack. Repeat until all the batter is used.
4. Pick the leaves from the lettuce. Dip a rice paper wrapper in lukewarm water for a few seconds, then place a folded pancake, lettuce and herbs on it. Roll everything up and dip generously into the nước mắm chấm.
Title: Miljuschka’s Street Food Vietnam
Author: Miljuschka Witzenhausen
Price: €20,-
Publisher: 24Kitchen
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