Written in Collaboration with Cruise1st Australia
A delicious recipe for making banh xeo (crispy Vietnamese pancakes) at home.
We’re a family of avid cruisers and have sailed far and wide. But one of our all-time favourite ports is busy, buzzy Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) in always fabulous Vietnam, a great country to explore with kids. Famous for the pivotal role it played in the end of Vietnam War, the city is now the country’s pulsing centre of commerce.
With its culture, and its clash of classic French architecture, sleek skyscrapers and ornate temples, friendly Ho Chi Minh City is endlessly fascinating. It is also endlessly noisy, but the chaotic din of honking horns and the cries of street hawkers only add a certain buzzing charm.
Regardless of its many historic and cultural attractions, the siren song of Ho Chi Minh City’s world-famous salty, sweet, sour and hot street food is what calls us the loudest. And ever since a then tiny Raffles and Sugarouff first stepped foot in Vitenamese soil, to a cheek pinching reception by the lovely locals, they’ve been more than a little bit smitten with bioth the destination and its culinary offerings.
While just as flavour-packed as the cuisine of its nearest neighbours, Vietnamese cuisine offers a little something extra. A lot of little somethings in fact, such as fabulous local produce, piles of fresh herbs that add lightness and fragrance or the influence of French colonialism adds a refined touch.
We can’t resist slurping swimming pool size bowls of steaming bowls of pho bo (pronounced “fur”), a popular noodle soup topped with slivers of rare beef and bean sprouts, or plates of xoi ga, a sticky rice and chicken concoction, which are devoured with ravenous intent. And there isn’t a banh mi thit, crispy French-style baguettes filled with pickled vegetables, herbs, pork and pate, that can escape the clutches of Raff. Sugarpuff, on the other hand, has always been all about the noodles, which she shoves in to her gob by the fistful.
But if we had to pick one Vietnamese dish we all love equally it would be banh xeo (crispy Vietnamese pancakes). These crispy, coconutty pancakes are stuffed full of prawns, pork, bean sprouts and a bounty of fresh herbs, then topped with tangy nuoc chom dressing.
And so addictive are the healthy, fragrant pancake, they’ve become a staple!. Here we share our at home recipe for banh xeo (crispy Vietnamese pancakes). Enjoy!
Ingredients
- For the Pancake:
- 200g rice flour
- 2 tbsp. cornflour
- 250ml coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. turmeric
- 200-250ml cold water
- 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
- 300gm pork belly, pre-cooked and sliced
- 250g medium cooked prawns
- 200g bean sprouts
- Peanut oil for frying
- For the Nuoc Chom Dressing:
- 80ml fish sauce
- 80ml fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- 1 chili, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- To serve:
- 1 cup Vietnamese mint leaves
- Butter lettuce leaves
- 1 chili diced
Instructions
- Mix all nuoc chom ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside once the sweet, salty, sour taste is balanced.
- Combine rice flour, corn flour, turmeric and salt in a bowl with coconut milk and enough iced water to make a runny batter (crepe consistency).
- Cover and rest in a refrigerator for at least two hours.
- Remove and stir in sliced spring onions.
- Heat a tsp of peanut oil in a large nonstick pan over a medium-high heat.
- Add a cup full of the batter to pan, swirling until it covers the base in a thin layer.
- Cook for three to four minutes or until base is crispy and golden.
- Scatter one half of the pancake with the cooked pork, prawn, and sprouts.
- Cook for a further minute, then fold the pancake in half and remove from heat.
- Serve with mint and nuoc chom dressing.
- Wrap cooked pancake in lettuce to eat, if desired.
Disclosure: This recipe was first written and published in Collaboration with Cruise1st Australia, but has been updated.
An award-winning travel writer and photographer, Aleney de Winter was fresh from school when she first set off to explore the far reaches of Australia with a two-man tent and a beaten-up Kingswood for company. Three decades, and two kids later, and she's still on the go, with her itchy-footed offspring in tow. 
jessica
February 19, 2018 at 3:38 pm (9 years ago)cutest blog.. thanks for sharing
Aleney de Winter
July 11, 2024 at 8:42 pm (2 years ago)Thank jEssica