With summer here fresh herbs are more readily available and that means that it was time for me to try making bánh xèo. Bánh xèo are savoury Vietnamese crepes that are stuffed with various fillings and served wrapped in lettuce leaves along with plenty of fresh herbs such as mint, cilantro, and Thai basil. The name bánh xèo translates to sizzling cake and this is because the crepes are cooked at a higher temperature and sizzle when the batter hits the pan. Cooking the crepes this way gives them a slightly crispy edge. Despite the fact that these crepes look like an omelette they are actually not made with eggs but rather a rice batter where the yellow colour comes from turmeric powder. I decided to keep my bánh xèo on the lighter side and I stuffed them with some quickly sauteed shrimp and shiitake mushrooms along with a healthy helping of bean sprouts and I served them with lettuce, mint, cilantro, basil and a tasty nuoc cham for dipping.
You have to love all of the fresh herbs available during the summer!
Bánh Xèo (Savoury Vietnamese Crepes Stuffed with Shrimp and Mushrooms)
A Vietnamese savoury fried crepe filled with shrimp, mushrooms and bean sprouts that is wrapped in lettuce along with fresh herbs and dipped into nuoc cham, a tasty Vietnamese dipping sauce.
ingredients
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup water
- oil
- 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined
- 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large clove garlic, chopped
- 6 green onions, sliced
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 1 head lettuce, leaves separated
- * fresh herbs such as cilantro, mint, basil
- 1 batch nuoc cham
directions
- Mix the flour, turmeric, salt, sugar, coconut milk and water until smooth and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium heat.
- Add the shrimp, mushrooms, garlic and the whites of the green onions and saute until the shrimp is almost cooked, about 2-3 minutes and set aside.
- Heat 2 teaspoons oil in the pan over medium-high heat.
- Pour 1/2 cup of the batter in, swirl it around and sprinkle on 1/2 cup of the bean sprouts over half of the crepe followed by 1/4 of the shrimp and mushrooms and 1/4 of the greens of the green onions.
- Drizzle 2 teaspoons of oil around the edges of the crepe.
- Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook until the edges begin to brown, about 3-5 minutes.
- Uncover and cook until the bottom is golden brown, about 3-5 minutes.
Cate says
July 8, 2012 at 1:55 amI was actually going to make these sometime in the next couple of weeks (I'm currently on a Vietnamese kick). I absolutely loved these when I had them in Saigon- a little messy but so so good. Your version looks great!
Kate says
July 8, 2012 at 3:24 amLooks fabulous!! Thanks for sharing!!!
Rosa's Yummy Yums says
July 8, 2012 at 9:35 amThose are some of my favorite crepes and thi sone looks amazing! Great choice of filling.
Cheers,
Rosa
Davis Bliss says
July 8, 2012 at 1:15 pmThese look delicious! I actually tried your recipe for Lemongrass Grilled Chicken yesterday-first time cooking w/lemongrass!-and it was amazing. Also you recipe for Nuoc Cham. Am in a Thai/Vietnamese groove now!
Anonymous says
July 8, 2012 at 1:20 pmThank you for posting, Kevin! I love your recipes … keep them coming :p
Paulina says
July 8, 2012 at 2:37 pmI like crepes, these are different than those that I know, but I must try your recipe! 🙂
Marian says
July 8, 2012 at 6:05 pmAnother amazing recipe, Kevin!
Ritsin says
July 8, 2012 at 8:47 pmHello Kevin, is the coconut milk you use for the crepes the canned variety used for cooking or the carton kind used for drinking?
little.empty.room says
July 8, 2012 at 9:08 pmI'm getting so hungry while looking at these pictures. I like your recipes and I think I have to try some of them. Have a nice sunday evening.
Lori Layne says
July 9, 2012 at 12:21 amI was having a really bad weekend,this just turned it into terrific! Thanks Kevin :}
Jade says
July 10, 2012 at 2:52 amThis looks delicious. I will have to try this recipe. I love eating all types of food. I especially like Thai, Indian, Japanese, and Italian ("real" Italian..not American version). I like to experiment and cook/eat foods from different regions of the world. Thank goodness, my family enjoys it as well. My husband will try anything. 🙂
Kevin says
July 10, 2012 at 9:47 amRitsin: The coconut milk is the canned kind used for cooking. Enjoy!
JulieD says
July 23, 2012 at 10:17 pmThis looks awesome, just like my mom used to make them!
hanh duong ngoc tran says
September 6, 2012 at 4:52 pmWow it is so great to see one of vietnam Southern foods make it to the world. Just a small adjustment from my opinion which I think it would make it taste more awesome. My grandma told me to keep the liquid(coconut milk and water) twice as much as the flour so the batter will be thin and controllable also add one small egg for flavour and crispy edge. Also if you mix tumeric powder with bit of coconut milk before adding it to the batter, it will give your crepe more vibrant colour minus a strong smell. Hope you will enjoy more of our food. ^_^
Anonymous says
January 28, 2013 at 2:07 amI tried these tonight – not nearly enough water. They were terrible.
Are you sure the water is correct?
Kevin says
January 31, 2013 at 11:58 amAnonymous: Yes, The water along with the coconut milk should have made a batter that was easy to swirl into a thin crepe.
BanhXeo HaiChinTDT says
February 25, 2014 at 6:54 amLooks delicious ^^ Thanks for sharing 🙂
https://www.facebook.com/banhxeo29tonducthang
Andrew Hughes says
May 4, 2014 at 9:31 pmGreat recipe, except i concur: 2X as much flour as needed