Saigon Crepes – Banh Xeo

I’m always looking for new things to eat and cook. I tried these at a restaurant and decided to give them a go. I little research, a little playing, and I came up with some Saigon crepes that were pretty close to what I ate -We’ll be having them again!

What is a Saigon Crepe?

Saigon crepes are a Vietnamese street food. The crispy crepes are typically filled with pork, shrimp, bean sprouts and green onions – and sometimes mushrooms. Each crepe is wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

They are served with a sweet, savory and salty nuoc cham – a Vietnamese dipping sauce. Not only are they delicious, they are easy to make!

Make the nuoc cham first – 

Mix the sugar with the warm water in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until blended.

Many of the ingredients are available in the Asian section of the market (or on Amazon!)

Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use it, at least a couple of hours. It will help all the flavors meld together.

Be sure to bring it to room temperature before you use it.

You can also buy the sauce premade  –

Making and serving the crepes – 

Mix all the crepe batter ingredients together in a medium bowl. Allow it to rest at least one hour before you use it.

Ready to eat? Get all the ingredients together and prepped.

Start by cooking the onions and mushrooms in 2 Tablespoons of oil. Gently cook until they are starting to soften.

Add the shrimp and pork and cook until the shrimp is just starting to turn pink, about 3 minutes.

Remove it all from the heat and set aside.

Heat a skillet and add 1 Tablespoon of oil.

Pour 1/4 of the crepe batter (about 1/3 cup) to the pan and swirl it to spread it out to a thin pancake. Let it cook for about 1 minutes on medium-high heat.

Add 1/4 of the vegetable and meat mixture, 1/4 of the bean sprouts and 1/4 of the green onions. Cover and cook for another minutes. The shrimp should be pink, but the sprouts should still have some crunch.

Gently fold the crepe in half and set on a heated plate. Continue until all four crepes are made. If you are making a lot, put them on a rack in the oven on warm. The rack will keep them crispy.

Lay each crepe on a fresh lettuce leaf. Wrap the leaf around the crepe

and serve with dipping sauce. I cut each crepe in half, so one whole crepe is a serving.

NOTE: the first one almost always does not come out! I just set it aside and we ate it – but it wasn’t as pretty as the others! There is enough batter to make four good crepes and one not so good (first) one.

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

5 from 7 votes

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Saigon Crepes - Banh Xeo

Crispy crepes made of rice flour and filled with vegetables, shrimp and pork. The dipping sauce is delicious combination of sweet, savory and salty.

Course: Main Course, main dish, Snack

Cuisine: Street food, Vietnamese

Keyword: bean spouts, fish sauce, green onion, lime juice, onion, pork, rice flour, shrimp

Servings: 4 crepes (with enough for the not so good first one)

Author: HelenFern

Ingredients

Nuoc cham - Dipping sauce

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1/4 cup fish sauce (Available in the Asian section of the market)
• 1 teaspoon crushed garlic (about 1 large clove)
• 1 Tablespoon minced red onion
• 1 Tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes

Crepe Batter

• 1 cup rice flour
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated white sugar
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup canned coconut milk (save the rest of the can for your coffee!!)

The Rest of the Crepe

• 6 Tablespoons olive oil (Just a little more than 1/3 cup)
• 1/4 cup yellow onion, chopped
• 1 cup oyster mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 to 3/4 pound raw shrimp - peeled, cleaned and cut into large chunks
• 1/2 cup cooked pork, chopped
• 3 to 4 green onions, white and green parts, sliced
• 3 to 4 cups mung bean sprouts
• 8 large lettuce leaves - use a leaf type lettuce, not iceberg

Instructions

nuoc cham - dipping sauce

1. Mix the sugar with the warm water in a small bowl. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the remaining ingredients and whisk until blended.

2. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to use it, at least a couple of hours. It will help all the flavors meld together.

3. Be sure to bring it to room temperature before you use it. 

The Batter

1. Mix all the crepe batter ingredients together in a medium bowl.

   Allow it to rest at least one hour before you use it.

Making the crepes -

1. Start by cooking the onions and mushrooms in 2 Tablespoons of oil. Gently cook until they are starting to soften.

2. Add the shrimp and pork and cook until the shrimp is just starting to turn pink, about 3 minutes.

3. Remove it all from the heat and set aside. 

4. Heat a skillet and add 1 Tablespoon of oil.

5. Pour 1/4 of the crepe batter (about 1/3 cup) to the pan and swirl it to spread it out to a thin pancake. Let it cook for about 1 minutes on medium-high heat.

6. Add 1/4 of the vegetable and meat mixture, 1/4 of the bean sprouts and 1/4 of the green onions. Cover and cook for another minutes. The shrimp should be pink, but the sprouts should still have some crunch.

7. Gently fold the crepe in half and set on a heated plate. Continue until all four crepes are made. If you are making a lot, put them on a rack in the oven on warm. The rack will keep them crispy.

8. Lay each crepe on a fresh lettuce leaf. Wrap the leaf around the crepe and serve with dipping sauce. 

Recipe Notes

 

© Copyright 2023 The Lazy Gastronome

 

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