Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake) is a crepe flavored with coconut and turmeric served with lettuce, fresh herbs, and nuoc cham dipping sauce.
Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake)
By Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
Jump to Recipe
I had meant to get this posted with the #BreadBakers group yesterday but was beset with problems at home so this post and another (Chicken Alfredo Casserole) had their publication dates delayed. I hope to get the pasta dish up tomorrow.
Print Recipe
Life happens like that sometimes. The heights and hopes to which we rise do not define who we are. What defines us is how well we rise after falling. So we pick ourselves up, brush off the dust and climb back on our horses. That’s the only way you get to ride into a sunset with a happy ending.
I can’t actually recall the first time I ate a Vietnamese Pancake. It may have been at a place in Orlando near downtown back when we still lived down there. Or it may have been up near the airbase in Dayton when we lived there. That’s been 25 years overall, and I have eaten a lot of Vietnamese food.
I just remember most that Bill did the selections at first from the restaurant, since he had eaten it before. I loved everything I tried. So if you haven’t eaten Vietnamese food before, you may find you have been missing out on a universe of deliciousness.
At restaurants near us, this is sometimes served with shrimp, at other times with both shrimp and pork. I like it either way, but for today I have done the shrimp only, as it makes a nice entree for the Lenten season. It is considered an appetizer, but I always found it to be a wonderful light entree. If I pair it with a summer roll and Vietnamese iced coffee, I am all set. Not that I need a Summer Roll, but I almost invariably order them.
This is also gluten-free as far as I can tell. I don’t require GF myself, but the ingredients just happen to come that way, so if that’s what you are looking for, you’re in luck.
Banh Xeo pictured plated on Thunder Melamine plates:
Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake)
Click stars in the recipe card to rate.
Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake)
Ingredients
Pancake Batter:
- 1-1/4 cups rice flour
- 5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 14 ounces unsweetened coconut milk 1 can
- 1/2 cup water
Pancake fillings:
- 3/4 pound shelled shrimp and/or julienne sliced boneless pork loin either-or-combination, your choice
- 3 cups fresh mung bean sprouts
- 1 large onion sliced
- 1 scallion chopped
Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce:
- 1/4 cup fish sauce nam pla
- 1/3 cup palm sugar or substitute brown sugar
- 3/4 cup cold water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon finely shredded carrot
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
Accompaniments:
- peanut oil for cooking
- fresh Boston lettuce or iceberg lettuce leaves
- fresh mint
- fresh cilantro
- sambal chile sauce or sriracha
Instructions
- Whisk together the pancake batter ingredients in a stainless or glass bowl (the turmeric will stain otherwise) and let rest for one hour.
- Whisk together the nuoc cham and refrigerate until needed.
- Prep the fillings and accompaniments and keep them chilled.
- Heat one tablespoon oil in a small skillet and cook the onion slices until half soft, then add the shrimp or pork and continue cooking until the shrimp are opaque and/or the pork cooked through, adding a little nuoc cham to the pan to get steam on it.
- Remove those to a bowl and in the remainder of oil in the pan cook the bean sprouts and scallion briefly until they just begin to wilt (you don't need to cook them mushy); remove from heat and set aside.
- Heat one teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet (I used my largest, which is a Swiss Diamond fish skillet, but a 10-12 inch skillet is fine if you use less batter) and pour in enough batter to cover the bottom when swirled (this was one cup for my big Swiss Diamond fish skillet, should be about 1/2-3/4 for other skillets)(I like big wide crepes).
- When the batter begins to appear dry, place some shrimp/pork, onion, and bean sprouts on one side of the pancake.
- As the pancake browns underneath, fold it in half using a large spatula, and slide onto a serving plate.
- Serve pancake with lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, chile sauce, and nuoc cham dip, as lettuce wraps.
Notes
From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com
Nutrition
Like I said, I had intended to post with Bread Bakers for the pancake day roundup, and have included the linkup anyway in case you had been looking forward to those. Next month is crackers, which I am hosting, and Bread Bakers always post together on the second Tuesday of the month, so the cracker recipes will be up on March 13th. For now though, the pancakes:
#BreadBakers
Pancakes
- Aebleskivers by All That’s Left Are The Crumbs
- Apam Balik by I Camp in My Kitchen
- Blueberry Lemon Dutch Baby Pancake by Spill the Spices
- Brazilian Tapioca Pancakes by Herbivore Cucina
- Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes by Ambrosia
- Eggless Chocolate Chip Pancake by Seduce Your Tastebuds
- German Pancake with Easy Fruit Compote by A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Gluten Free Aebleskiver by Gayathri’s Cook Spot
- Hoppers by Mayuri’s Jikoni
- Hotteok by Sara’s Tasty Buds
- Instant Multigrain Dosa by Sizzling Tastebuds
- Japanese Pancakes by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
- Kuih Dadar – Bujang Dalam Selimut – Asian Stuffed Pandan Pancakes by The Schizo Chef
- Moo Shu Pancakes by Food Lust People Love
- Soft and Spongy Poha Dosas by Sneha’s Recipe
- Swedish Pancakes by Hostess At Heart
- Syrniki by The Mad Scientist’s Kitchen
- Vegan Red Velvet Pancakes by Cook’s Hideout
Don’t Forget to Pin and Save the Recipe!
Above all, join my recipe group on Facebook for more recipes from blogger friends around the world!
Palatable Recipes
or scan the code to join
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links which offer sources for ingredients and equipment, if needed. You can click the links with no charge to you. If you do purchase anything during your visit it helps pay the electric bill here and keep the blog lights on! Thanks for your support.
Wow. Love the ingredients but since I do not do pork or cook shrimp will try to substitute. Sounds delicious.