Bánh Xèo: Vietnamese Pancakes

We love these pancakes so much - they're quick and easy to make are so full of flavour, making them a perfect recipe to demo at our launch party!

Bánh Xèo

Cripsy Vietnamese rice pancakes with a mushroom, tofu and beansprout filling.

Ingredients

100g rice flour

20g corn flour

125ml coconut milk (a good quality one - we use Essential which is available in Harvest)

125ml water

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp turmeric

2 tbsp sunflower oil for frying

Filling

1 tsp untoasted sesame oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

½ red chilli, de-seeded, sliced

1 stick lemon grass, finely chopped

2 cm piece of ginger, peeled & chopped

75g shitake mushrooms, sliced

75g oyster mushrooms, sliced

25g yuba (dried beancurd skin), rehydrated in water, sliced

1 tbsp shoyu

1 tbsp palm sugar

½ lime juiced

Toppings

1 carrot, julienned

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Handful of beansprouts

Garnish with herbs – coriander, mint, thai basil

Method

1. Place the flours into a large bowl with the turmeric and the salt. Pour in the coconut milk and water, mixing all the time to make a thin, smooth batter.
2. The batter for these pancakes needs to be left to rest before you need to use it, leave for at least 10 minutes.

To cook the filling

1. Heat a frying pan and add 1 tbsp of untoasted sesame oil, fry the chopped garlic, red chilli, lemon grass and ginger until fragrant.
2. Add the sliced mushrooms and sliced tofu skin, fry for a few minutes until the mushrooms release their juices. Add the shoyu, sugar and lime, adjust to taste.
3. Remove from the heat.
4. In a large non-stick frying pan, heat the sunflower oil.
5. Pour a small ladle of batter in a circular motion and tip the pan to create a thin pancake.
6. Let the pancake cook for about 3 minutes. Whilst cooking place a thin layer of the filling on 1 half of the pancake.
7. Top with carrots, spring onions, beansprouts and herbs before folding over the other half of the pancake, which should be golden and crispy on the underside.

Enjoy whilst they're still warm