Bánh xèo are delicious savoury pancakes and a popular street food from Vietnam. The batter sizzles as it hits the pan. Xèo means sizzle. This is my mother’s legendary recipe, which is crispy and utterly delicious! You will find variations of this dish from different regions in the country, some of which use coconut milk or even beer in the batter. Mine are simply made with carbonated water.
Makes 8 pancakes
EQUIPMENT
1 24cm non-stick frying pan with lid
INGREDIENTS
For the batter:
75g cornflour
75g rice flour
400ml carbonated water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 small spring onions, green parts only
8 tsp vegetable oil
For the filling:
160g pork belly, thinly sliced
160g raw, peeled king prawns, deveined and halved lengthways
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
250g beansprouts
For the fish dipping sauce (nước mắm chấm):
60ml water
60g caster sugar
40ml fish sauce
30ml lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)
2 garlic cloves, ground or finely chopped
1 red bird’s eye chilli (use less and remove the seeds if you prefer less heat), ground or finely chopped
To serve:
2 little gem or 1 round lettuce
1/2 medium size cucumber
20g coriander
20g mint
20g Thai basil
METHOD
Whisk the corn flour, rice flour, turmeric, salt and water in a bowl to form a smooth batter. Leave to rest for an hour or overnight in the fridge.
In a bowl, dissolve the sugar in hot water and leave to cool. Then add the fish sauce and lime juice. Grind the garlic and chilli in a pestle and mortar (or blitz in a small food processor/chopper, or finely chop). Add this to the bowl and give a good stir. Adjust to your taste. Put into small serving bowls for dipping.
Wash the lettuce leaves, herbs and place in a large bowl or serving plate. Thinly slice the cucumber and add to this. Place this in the middle of the the table so everyone can help themselves.
Prepare the filling by thinly slice the onion and belly pork. Halve the prawns lengthways and devein.
Whisk the batter before adding thinly sliced spring onions. Remember to stir the mixture before you fry each pancake.
Heat a 24cm non-stick frying pan on medium high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of oil, 5-6 slices of pork belly and some onion slices. The pan should sizzle when you add the meat. Fry for about 30 seconds (or when both sides are cooked) then add a similar amount of prawns and give everything a quick stir for about 15 seconds.
Stir the mixture before adding a ladle of batter (50ml) over the filling. Quickly swirl the pan to form a thin layer covering its base.
Add a small handful of beansprouts (30g) on one side of the pancake and immediately place the lid on and cook for two minutes.
Reduce the heat to low. Remove the lid carefully making sure that any condensation does not fall back onto the pancake. Cook for three minutes or until the pancake is crispy and golden. Fold the pancake in half. Transfer to a plate and serve straight away.
Repeat with the remaining batter and filling for next seven pancakes.
Tear a piece of pancake and place it on a leaf with your choice of fresh herbs and cucumber. Fold the lettuce into a roll and dip it into the fish dipping sauce.
VIDEO OF THE PROCESS
For a video of the process, please visit my YouTube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/@thuycooks
TIPS
I would recommend having two frying pans so that you cook two pancakes at a time to avoid people waiting. This dish is best suited to a small group of friends unless you have lots of frying pans!
You can substitute the pork belly for other meats like chicken fillet.
Round lettuce has bigger leaves so it is easier to wrap the pancakes. However, though gem lettuce is smaller and a little fiddlier to wrap, it has a lovely crunch.
Depending on the season, you can use other herbs. I love to use Vietnamese coriander and perilla leaves from my garden.
Thuy Hoang
MasterChef UK Quarter Finalist 2023
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