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Sizzling Crepes

Many people think the sizzling crepe called banh xeo is a gift from France, but I think it’s from India. Influences from China, India, Thai, & France are prominent in Vietnamese food. The use of rice flour, turmeric, coconut milk, & mung beans are common in Indian cuisine & not so much in the French pantry. This is enough to justify my belief for it’s influence being more from India. Besides, India have a pancake or crepe version called dosas which utilizes pretty much the same ingredients as banh xeo. No matter, you’ll sure love to devour this delicious savory crepe.

The traditional crepe fillings are slices of meat, shrimp, bean sprouts, mung beans, & onions. We will skip the meat & seafood for meaty mushrooms & creamy mung beans. Don’t skimp out on the mung beans because it gives full-flavored to the crepe & also jazzes up the texture.

Dipping sauce known as nuoc cham is a staple condiment in practically every Vietnamese meal and this dish needs it. Nuoc cham requires fish sauce. How the heck am I going to get around this? Then my aunt bought me a vegetarian fish sauce which saves my day! You need to add ginger, garlic, lime, & a bit extra chilies to give it a punch. It tasted good & sprightly.

We normally eat the crepe as a shared appetizer or first course & then follow by pho (duh of course) or other main dish. Often a vendor will have five crepe pans going all at once & filling it with all types of goodness. Only seconds off the pan we demolished it in seconds enjoying the hot crunchy texture of the crepe. We won’t be cooking 5 crepes all at once but to begin, make sure your pan is super hot & have enough oil so that the batter doesn’t stick & it’ll be easy to fold the crepe over. Don’t fret if you messed up couple times. I sure did. It’s a trial & error but with several tries you’ll get the hang of it. Give it a try & enjoy it with a small army of guests. 

INGREDIENTS
 
For the crepe batter:
1 3/4 cups rice flour
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 1/2 cups water

For the fillings:
1 cup yellow mung beans, soaked in water overnight then steamed till tender
1 large yellow onions or white onions, sliced
2-3 medium to large portabello mushrooms or 1 pckg crimini mushrooms, sliced
4 scallions, finely chopped
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 tsp chopped garlic, for sauteing the mushrooms
salt to taste
vegetable oil

For the garnish:
6 or more leaves of lettuce
1/2 bunch mint
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 bunch of perilla
 
For the dipping sauce:
1/2 cup of vegetarian fish sauce nuoc cham
1 tsp chopped garlic
1 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp thai red chili, thinly sliced or 1/2 tsp sambal chili sauce

METHOD
 
For the dipping sauce:
Pour 1/2 cup of the vegetarian nuoc cham fish sauce into a bowl. Add the garlic & ginger & stir well. Squeeze in the juice of 1 1/2 limes & mix well. Add in the Thai chilies & stir. Adjust the amount of chilies & lime to your liking. Set aside.
 
For the crepe:
Combine the rice flour, turmeric, & salt in a mixing bowl. Pour in the coconut milk & whisk, then pour in the water & whisk thoroughly. Add in the sliced scallions & mix well. Set aside.
 
For the fillings:
Strain the mung beans that’s been soaked overnight. Put it steamer & steam till mung beans are done. Remove the mung beans onto a bowl & let cool. Once it’s cooled, put it in a pestle & mortar or food processor & grind it to a smooth grainy consistency. Place it in a bowl & set aside. Put a tsp of vegetable oil onto a pan on medium heat. Toss in the sliced onions & saute till the onions are translucent. Remove the onions onto a small bowl & set aside. On the same pan, put a tbsp of vegetable oil into the pan set on medium heat. Add in the garlic & stir for 30 seconds or so, then add in the sliced mushrooms & add salt to taste. Once it’s done, remove it from the pan & place into a small bowl & set aside. Wash the bean sprouts & place it in a bowl. Pour hot water onto the bowl of bean sprouts for 30 seconds & drain. Place the bean sprouts into a bowl & set aside.
Place all the bowls with the fillings for the crepe near the stove in an organized way so you can have easy access to it when cooking the crepe.
 
Cooking the crepe:
Place a pan (size of the crepe varies & really whatever size pan you have on hand is ok) on the stove & set it on medium high heat. Since I have an 8” pan, I’ll put in 1 tbsp oil into the pan & twirl the oil till fully coat the pan. Whisk the crepe batter so it’s mixed well before ladle it on the pan. Once you see the pan gets hot, ladle the batter into the hot pan & swirl it around so the batter will also fill the rim & that the whole pan is fully coated with the batter. The crepe is almost done if you see the batter gets crispy edges & the middle part is drying up & the other side is brown. Once it’s almost done, sprinkle in 2-3 tbsp mung beans all over the crepe, then spread the mushrooms to half side of the crepe, then add in the bean sprouts on half side of the crepe on top of the mushrooms. Cover for 1-2minutes to wilt the bean sprouts. Uncover & add some oil around the edge of the crepe to add crispness to the crepe. Wait for 1 minute, then fold over the crepe (like an omlet) so it looks like 1/2 a crepe. Transfer to a plate & serve immediately. This is best eaten as soon it comes off the pan so to enjoy the crunchy crispness of the crepe. Repeat the same way for each crepe.
 
For the Garnish:
Arrange nicely on a large plate, several leaves of lettuce, mint, perilla, & cilantro. Set aside.
 
ASSEMBLE & SERVE
 
Place the garnished plate of vegetables in the middle of the table so people can help themselves. Pour the dipping sauce into individual dipping bowl for each person. Place the finished crepe in the middle of the table to share or serve each crepe per person. Tear part of the crepe & fold it into a leaf lettuce with pieces of mint, perilla, & cilantro. Dip it into the dipping sauce & enjoy!
 
 
 
 
 
 
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