Banh Xeo - Waaaaaay yummy!!!

Tonight we made banh xeo for dinner. It's one of my favourite Vietnamese foods. Banh xeo is a pancake made with rice flour and turmeric. Its filled with prawns, pork and bean shoots. To eat it, you add fresh herbs and wrap small pieces of pancake in lettuce leaves. Most people dip it in fish sauce with sliced chillies. I'm a bit of a chilli wuss, so I eat mine with sweet chilli sauce. The crispy edges are the best bit.

 You can buy ready-made banh xeo mix in most Asian supermarkets.

Tonight we used a packet of coconut milk powder but I usually use canned coconut milk. I like my bean sprouts crispy so I add them after the pancake is cooked. Some people add them during cooking.

The finished product. Very delicious. So you can enjoy them too, here's the recipe. In case you have trouble finding the ready-made batter mix, I've given you the full recipe.







 Makes about 4-6 filled crepes


Ingredients:

1 cup rice flour
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk
Approx. 1/2 cup water
This will depend on the thickness of the coconut milk
Oil, for frying

2 spring onions, finely sliced
200g prawns, peeled and deveined

200g pork belly, thinly sliced
500g mung bean sprouts
1 lettuce (I prefer cos lettuce)
1 bunch coriander
1 bunch of mint
Ready-made nuoc cham dipping sauce
Or make a simple dipping sauce by adding sliced chillies to fish sauce

Method

Wash lettuce, herbs and bean sprouts and drain well.

Combine rice flour, salt and turmeric in a large bowl. Stir in the coconut milk, then slowly beat in enough water to make a thin crepe batter. Rest batter while you cook the filling.
Over medium-high heat, warm oil in a frying pan and saute the pork belly until cooked through. Add the prawns and spring onions. Saute for a further 3-4 minutes or until prawns are cooked. Season with salt to taste. Remove filling mix to a bowl and set aside.

Wipe out the frying pan and reheat over medium heat. Add a small amount of oil. Stir the pancake batter well and pour 1/2 cup batter into the pan. Swirl the pan to evenly coat the bottom. Sprinkle some of the filling mixture over half the pancake, along with a small handful of sprouts. When the the middle of the crepe looks cooked through and the edges of the crepe begin to brown, fold the crepe over to cover the filling and slide it onto a plate. If the edges of the crepe are ready well before the middle is cooked, cover the frying pan with a lid whilst cooking. This should help it cook more evenly. Keep cooked pancakes warm in the oven while you finish cooking the rest.
To serve, put the pancakes, lettuce and herbs on a large platter to share. Give each person their own plate and a small bowl of dipping sauce. Place a piece of pancake on top of a lettuce leaf, along with a few sprigs of herbs. Roll the lettuce leaf up and dip in your sauce.


Hope you enjoy this as much as I do!
:)