Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes)
a recipe exclusive from Vietnamese Chef Emina of Eminami!
xin chào, lovelies!
recently we’ve been blessed with wholesome and fruitful collaborations with chefs and food entrepreneurs, where they taught us to make various recipes from their respective food cultures, with the previous one featuring a culinary master & educator, Chef Pang, guiding us on how to prepare juicy and delicious halal Xiao Long Bao!
this round, we were visited by Chef Emina, restaurateur and owner of Eminami, a local restaurant chain serving authentic halal Vietnamese cuisine. originating as a small-scale home based business followed by a former hawker centre stall, she currently owns 2 restaurant venues - one in Kandahar Street & the other in Pasir Ris.
on our 1-to-1 kitchen class, Emina taught us how to make the first item on her menu when she started as a home-based business - Bánh Xèo (pronounced ‘baan-seaaw’)! these delicious turmeric-tinted crepes were TO DIE FOR and had the perfect crunchy exterior which was light and flavourful especially when dipped in nước chấm alongside raw herbs.
we learnt so many tips and tricks on our collaboration with Chef Emina, who hails form Mui Ne in southern Vietnam, including her hack of using soda water for the Bánh Xèo batter which somehow keeps the crepes super crispy for a long period of time after cooking. she also shared with us how different versions of Bánh Xèo exist in different regions in Vietnam - with the fillings varying from pork belly to tofu to even having duck meat, which is special in her hometown’s version of Bánh Xèo.
this knowledge sharing was personally such a delight - Bánh Xèo has always been one of my favourites Vietnamese snacks & I was surprised at how EASY it was to prepare them, which made me want to eventually replicate this again! we hope you would try making these too - let us know in the comments below how it turns out for you!
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Chef Emina’s Bánh Xèo (Vietnamese Crêpe)
(makes ~12 crepes)
500g rice flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp mushroom seasoning
150ml coconut cream
160ml soda water (unsweetened)
30 ml boiling hot water
6-8 stalks spring onion, cut to 1 inch pieces (separate the green & white parts, slice the white parts into halves, lengthwise)
300g beansprouts (taugeh)
1 large squid, cut into rings
24 prawns, peeled and cut into halves lengthwise
2 tbsp fish sauce
oil, as needed
dipping sauce (nước chấm)
1/2 cup warm water
4 tbsp white sugar
1/4 cup fish sauce
juice from 2 limes
3 bird’s eye chillies (chilli padi), sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
accompanying herbs (according to preference)
a few pieces of coral lettuce
5 stalks thai basil
1 carrot, shredded
1 large cucumber, sliced
a bunch of mint, picked
a bunch of vietnamese perilla
directions:
preparing the batter
in bowl, whisk together rice flour, turmeric powder and mushroom seasoning until combined. pour in coconut cream and soda water and whisk until combine and there are no lumps. lastly add hot water and stir through to combine. mix in the green parts of spring onion.
set the batter aside at room temperature for 20 minutes.
making the filling
meanwhile in a hot pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and stir-fry the prawns on high heat until just cooked, seasoning it with a few dashes of fish sauce. set aside. do the same with the squid. be careful not to overcook the seafood or it will be tough & chewy.
stirring the sauce
start to prepare the dipping sauce (nước chấm) by fully dissolving the water with sugar, then, add the other sauce ingredients and mix well. adjust the taste to preference.
making the crepes
on non-stick pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp oil. once the oil is hot, add in a ladle of the batter, making sure to mix it well first. the batter should just cover the surface of the pan nicely in a thin layer
once the batter starts to solidify, add 3 more tablespoons oil along the edges. this helps to crisp up the crepes further.
on one half of the crepe, add a few pieces of prawn and squid pieces, some beansprouts and the white parts of the spring onion.
keep cooking the crepe until the bottom is golden brown and crispy. then. fold the empty side towards the filling side. remove from the pan with a spatula and drain off the excess oil it on a paper towel.
repeat until the batter and seafood finishes.
enjoy it with the fresh herbs, dipping it in the delicious nước chấm.
for more seafood-y recipes, check these out:
Jjamppong
hope you aren’t allergic to seafood cuz you will be missin out on this deliiicious stew! sometimes i get a little bored of the usual army stew and decide to change it up by making a Jjampong instead. if you are wondering what this dish is, it is a Chinese-Korean style stew, usually packed with a mixture of seafood, boiled in a spicy broth, and served wi…
