Bánh xèo — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A crispy golden turmeric-tinted rice flour crepe filled with shrimp, chicken, bean sprouts, and herbs, folded in half and meant to be wrapped in lettuce leaves with fresh mint and dipped in nuoc cham sauce.

Ingredients

200g rice flour
50g cornstarch
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
400ml coconut milk
200ml water
200g shrimp, peeled and deveined
200g chicken breast, thinly sliced
200g bean sprouts
4 spring onions, sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
Vegetable oil for cooking
Lettuce leaves, mint, perilla, and cilantro for wrapping
Nuoc cham dipping sauce

Instructions

1 Whisk rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric, coconut milk, and water together until smooth, then let the batter rest for thirty minutes.
2 Heat a large non-stick skillet with a generous amount of oil over high heat until the oil shimmers.
3 Add a few slices of onion and shrimp to the pan, cook for one minute, then pour a thin layer of batter in a circular motion and immediately scatter bean sprouts on one half.
4 Cover and cook for two to three minutes until the bottom is deeply golden and crackling crisp, then fold the crepe in half.
5 Transfer to a serving plate and repeat with the remaining batter and fillings.
6 Serve with a platter of lettuce leaves, fresh herbs, and individual bowls of nuoc cham for wrapping and dipping.

Did You Know?

The name banh xeo is onomatopoeic, imitating the sizzling sound the batter makes when it hits the hot oiled pan. In the south, banh xeo are large and crispy, while central Vietnamese versions are smaller and chewier.