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Crispy Vietnamese Crepes | Banh Xeo

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Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 15 Crepes
Crispy Vietnamese Crepes, or Banh Xeo, are a delightful treat featuring golden, crispy rice flour crepes filled with shrimp, pork, and bean sprouts. Served with fresh herbs and fish dipping sauce, these savory pancakes are a burst of texture and flavor in every bite. This could be made vegan by substituting pork and shrimp with tofu.

Ingredients 

Minced pork: 

  • 1 lb. ground pork, can substitute with fried tofu
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ tsp black pepper
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp mushroom powder
  • ½ Tbsp fish sauce
  • 6 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 whole shallot, chopped

Batter mix: 

  • 2 cups rice flour, it’s important it’s an Asian brand
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ Tbsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • ¼ cup coconut milk
  • 12 oz beer, or 1 ½ cups
  • 3 cups sparkling water
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • ¼ cup garlic chives, or green onions, chopped

Crepe filling: 

  • 2 lb. shrimp, with shell on, poop removed
  • minced pork
  • 2 onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 bag bean sprouts

Optional garnish: 

  • red leaf lettuce
  • fish herb
  • basil
  • mint leaves
  • fish dipping sauce

Instructions

  • Marinate the ground pork with salt, pepper, sugar, mushroom powder and fish sauce and put aside.
  • Put all the dry ingredients of the batter mix in a large bowl and whisk together.
  • Then add coconut milk, beer, carbonated water, oil and chives. Mix well.
  • Put the batter mix in the fridge and let it rest for at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.
  • In a pan on medium high heat, add oil and fry shrimp with shell on until it’s pink and cooked through. Let it cool.
  • Then peel and cut the shrimp lengthwise. Set aside.
  • For the minced pork; first fry garlic and shallots for a couple of minutes in a pan on medium high heat, then add marinated ground pork. Let it cook untouched for 4 minutes on each side and then toss. You want the pork to have a nice brown color, and you obtain that by frying it untouched.
  • Remember to stir the batter well before making each crepe.
  • In a non-stick pan, turn heat on high to medium high. Wait for the pan to get extra hot, add a bit of oil then pour ¼ cup of batter and swirl so the pan is evenly coated.
  • Turn heat down all the way to low, then take a small bunch of sliced onions, shrimp and pork.
  • Then add a handful of bean sprouts on one side of the pan. Cover with lid and cook for 2 minutes.
  • Remove lid, turn heat to medium high and brush oil on all sides of the crepe. Cook for 2 minutes. The sides will start lifting and that’s when you know it’s ready.
  • Fold crepe over and immediately remove from pan.
  • Repeat process. You don’t need to add more oil before pouring the batter again.
  • It’s best to eat them right away when they are nice, warm and crispy.
  • To serve, you can roll the crepes with red leaf lettuce and dip with fish dipping sauce, or you can put the crepe in a bowl, add all the herbs and lettuce and eat it like a salad with fish dipping sauce as your dressing.

Nutrition

Serving: 1crepe | Calories: 345kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.003g | Cholesterol: 149mg | Sodium: 558mg | Potassium: 435mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 33IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 65mg | Iron: 1mg

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