Vietnamese Savory Crepes/Bánh Xèo

Bánh Xèo attempt #2 was a complete success!

I was a little disappointed with the Vietnamese crepes I made (and reviewed) a few weeks ago from the cookbook Plenty but I loved the concept of this thin crepe bursting with herbs and fresh vegetables and drizzled with a flavourful dressing so I decided to try again using this recipe instead.

These crepes are made of pre-soaked split yellow mung beans (moong dal), coconut milk (I used reduced fat) and rice flour (I used brown). Unlike the recipe from Plenty, which didn’t include the mung beans, there is no egg in this recipe. After a minimum 30 minute rest (the batter can actually be made the day before), the crepe batter is cooked in a hot, oiled wok with a lid on so the pancake bottom becomes brown and crispy while the top steams - no flipping required! I was using my wok to prepare a shrimp and pork filling (p188), so I used a non-stick pan instead. This worked well but my crepes ended up larger, with a yield of 8 instead of 12.

These crepes have a lovely flavour, a little salty, a little sweet (I thought they were delicious on their own) and are tender but not too delicate, but they did need to be served immediately so everyone could enjoy the crispy bottoms before they softened.

I served these with the vegetarian nuoc cham (p 29), one of the recommended sauces: a simple mix of soy sauce and rice vinegar, flavoured with lemongrass, garlic, chile, sugar and cinnamon. This was delicious on the meat filling as well as the herbs and vegetables.

I borrowed some ideas for the vegetable filling from the Plenty recipe and offered a wider assortment; that, along with the meat filling, meant that even the carnivores in the family enjoyed it.