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Crispy Vietnamese Crepes - Banh Xeo
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Crispy Vietnamese Crepes | Banh Xeo

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By: Cindy Lam Lorimer
Prep Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 10 Crepes
Crispy Vietnamese Crepes, or Banh Xeo, are a delightful treat featuring golden, crispy rice flour crepes filled with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts. Served with fresh herbs and fish dipping sauce, these savory pancakes are a burst of texture and flavor in every bite. This could be made vegan by substituting pork and shrimp with tofu.

Ingredients 

Minced pork: 

  • 1 lb. ground pork, can substitute with fried tofu
  • ½ tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp mushroom powder
  • ½ Tbsp fish sauce
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 whole shallot, chopped

Batter mix: 

  • 2 cups rice flour, it’s important it’s an Asian brand
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ Tbsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ¼ cup coconut milk
  • 12 oz beer, or 1 ½ cups
  • 3 cups sparkling water
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ⅓ cup garlic chives, or green onions, chopped

Crepe filling: 

  • 2 lb. shrimp, with shell on, poop removed
  • minced pork
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 bag bean sprouts

Optional garnish: 

  • red leaf lettuce
  • fish herb
  • basil
  • mint leaves
  • fish dipping sauce

Instructions

  • Marinate the ground pork with salt, pepper, sugar, mushroom powder and fish sauce and put aside.
  • Put all the dry ingredients of the batter mix in a large bowl and whisk together.
  • Then add coconut milk, beer, carbonated water, oil and chives. Mix well.
  • Put the batter mix in the fridge and let it rest for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
  • In a pan on medium high heat, add oil and fry shrimp with shell on until it’s pink and cooked through. Let it cool.
  • Then peel and cut the shrimp lengthwise. Set aside.
  • For the minced pork; first fry garlic and shallots for a couple of minutes in a pan on medium high heat, then add marinated ground pork. Let it cook untouched for 4 minutes on each side and then toss. You want the pork to have a nice brown color, and you obtain that by frying it untouched.
  • Remember to stir the batter well before making each crepe.
  • In a non-stick pan, turn heat on high to medium high. Wait for the pan to get extra hot, add a bit of oil then pour ¼ cup of batter and swirl so the pan is evenly coated. Make sure that you have a light film of the batter in the pan. If the film is too thick, your crepe will not be super crispy. You can pour the batter out of the pan to create a thin layer without extra batter sitting in the pan.  
  • Turn heat down all the way to low, then take a small bunch of sliced onions, shrimp and pork.
  • Then add a handful of bean sprouts on one side of the pan. Cover with lid and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Remove lid, turn heat to medium high and brush oil on all sides of the crepe. Cook for 2 minutes. The sides will start lifting and that’s when you know it’s ready.
  • Fold crepe over and immediately remove from pan.
  • Repeat process. You don’t need to add more oil before pouring the batter again.
  • It’s best to eat them right away when they are nice, warm and crispy.
  • To serve, you can roll the crepes with red leaf lettuce and dip with fish dipping sauce, or you can put the crepe in a bowl, add all the herbs and lettuce and eat it like a salad with fish dipping sauce as your dressing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1crepe | Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 179mg | Sodium: 501mg | Potassium: 471mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 62IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 85mg | Iron: 1mg

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