BÁNH XÈO (VIETNAMESE CREPES WITH SHRIMP AND PORK)

Make the crepe batter at least 1 hour (and up to 1 day in the fridge) in advance of when you will prepare the meal.  Combine the rice flour, all-purpose flour, corn starch, turmeric, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine.  Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, and about ¾ of the beer.  Whisk until smooth.  Gradually add more beer until the consistency of the batter is thinner than pancake batter.  It should just coat the back of a spoon. Do not stir in the scallions until just before cooking.

To make the nuoc cham, combine the warm water and sugar in a large jar and shake until the sugar is dissolved (you can also whisk in a small bowl if you don’t have a jar).  Add the lime zest, lime juice, fish sauce, garlic, and chilis.  Shake again to combine.

Just before you are ready to make the crepes combine the pork belly with the 2 teaspoons fish sauce and ¼ teaspoon salt in a small bowl and toss to combine.

Heat a couple teaspoons of the oil in a 8-9” non-stick skillet over medium high heat.  Add 3 or 4 pieces of the pork to the pan along with several slices of the onion.  Let the pork cook for 1 minute and flip the pieces over.  Add 3 or 4 shrimp to the pan and cook for another minute and then flip the shrimp when they begin to turn pink.

Ladle about ¼-⅓ cup of the batter (be sure you added the scallions to the batter just before cooking) into the pan and swirl the pan so the batter completely covers the bottom of the pan in a thin even layer.  Continue to swirl (it may go up the sides of the pan) until there is no more liquid in the pan.  Reduce the heat to medium and let cook for another minute until the sides of the crepe are set.

Add about ⅓ cup of the bean sprouts on top of the crepe – put them on one side only so it is easy to fold the crepe over the bean sprouts when it is time.  Cover the pan and let the crepe steam for 1-2 minutes until set in the center and lightly browned on the bottom.  Remove the cover and drizzle a little more oil around the edges of the crepe, gently loosening them with a small spatula as you go.  The edges should be getting crispy and lacey.  Cook for another minute.

Fold the empty side of the crepe over the bean sprouts.  Remove to a plate and serve with the mint leaves, cilantro, lettuce, and nouc cham sauce on the side.

The traditional way to eat these crepes is to cut off a piece of the crepe and place it in a piece of lettuce topped with a few mint and cilantro leaves and drizzled with the nuoc cham sauce.  Note – these are also often served with rice paper wraps (softened in warm water) in addition to or instead of the lettuce.