Vegan Bánh Xèo (Sizzling Vietnamese Crepes)
By America's Test KitchenPublished on March 31, 2019
Time
1¾ hours
Yield
Makes 9 crêpes, Serves 8
Ingredients
Dressing and Garnish
⅓ cup fish sauce substitute (see note)¼ cup warm water 3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)2 tablespoons sugar 2 Thai, serrano, or jalapeño chiles, stemmed, seeded, and minced1 garlic clove, minced2 heads red or green leaf lettuce, leaves separated and left whole1 cup fresh Thai basil leaves1 cup fresh cilantro leavesCrêpes
2 ¾ cups water 1 ¾ cups rice flour ½ cup coconut milk 4 scallions, sliced thinSalt 1 teaspoon ground turmeric ¼ cup vegetable oil 1 onion, halved and sliced thin1 pound carrots, peeled and shredded6 ounces (3 cups) bean sproutsBefore You Begin
Rice flour is available at some supermarkets and can also be found in natural foods stores; you cannot substitute regular flour or cornstarch for the rice flour. For the fish sauce substitute, use either Bragg's Amino Acids or our vegetarian fish sauce substitute recipe. Make sure to stir the coconut milk thoroughly before measuring out the desired amount. To make this dish spicier, add in the chile ribs and seeds as desired. If you can't find Thai basil, you can substitute regular basil. To allow for practice, the recipe yields one extra crêpe.
Instructions
- Whisk fish sauce, water, lime juice, sugar, chiles, and garlic together in bowl until sugar dissolves. Divide dressing among 6 small dipping bowls. Arrange lettuce, basil, and cilantro on serving platter.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Whisk water, flour, coconut milk, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and turmeric in bowl until combined.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Add carrots to skillet and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions and let cool slightly. Stir in bean sprouts.
- Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Quickly stir batter to recombine, then pour ½ cup batter into skillet while swirling pan gently to distribute it evenly over pan bottom. Reduce heat to medium and cook crêpe until edges pull away from sides and are deep golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Gently slide spatula underneath edge of crêpe, grasp edge with fingertips, and flip crêpe. Cook until spotty brown on second side, 2 to 3 minutes. Slide crêpe out of skillet and onto prepared wire rack and transfer to oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and remaining batter.
- Divide carrot mixture evenly among crêpes and fold crêpes in half. Serve crêpes with dipping sauce, passing garnish platter separately. (To eat, slice off wedge of crêpe, wrap in lettuce leaf, sprinkle with basil and cilantro, and dip into sauce.)
for the dressing and garnish
for the crêpes
Time
1¾ hoursYield
Makes 9 crêpes, Serves 8Ingredients
Dressing and Garnish
Crêpes
Ingredients
Dressing and Garnish
Crêpes
Ingredients
Dressing and Garnish
Crêpes
Why This Recipe Works
Named for the sound these crêpes make when the batter hits a hot wok, sizzling Saigon crêpes are best described as paper-thin Vietnamese omelets. These crispy yellow rice-flour crêpes, usually stuffed with pork and shrimp, are wrapped with lettuce and herbs and dipped into a sweet-tart dipping sauce. For our vegetarian version, we chose a simple filling of shredded carrots, onions, and bean sprouts. The batter for the crêpes is simple: just water, rice flour, and coconut milk. To give them a subtle savory flavor, we added scallions and turmeric. To make the flipping and folding of these delicate crêpes easier, we cooked them in a 10-inch nonstick skillet instead of a traditional wok. For the dressing, we combined fish sauce substitute with lime juice, sugar, minced fresh chiles, and garlic.
Before You Begin
Rice flour is available at some supermarkets and can also be found in natural foods stores; you cannot substitute regular flour or cornstarch for the rice flour. For the fish sauce substitute, use either Bragg's Amino Acids or our vegetarian fish sauce substitute recipe. Make sure to stir the coconut milk thoroughly before measuring out the desired amount. To make this dish spicier, add in the chile ribs and seeds as desired. If you can't find Thai basil, you can substitute regular basil. To allow for practice, the recipe yields one extra crêpe.
Instructions
- Whisk fish sauce, water, lime juice, sugar, chiles, and garlic together in bowl until sugar dissolves. Divide dressing among 6 small dipping bowls. Arrange lettuce, basil, and cilantro on serving platter.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Set wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Whisk water, flour, coconut milk, scallions, 1 teaspoon salt, and turmeric in bowl until combined.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and ½ teaspoon salt and cook until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to bowl. Add carrots to skillet and cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl with onions and let cool slightly. Stir in bean sprouts.
- Wipe skillet clean with paper towels. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Quickly stir batter to recombine, then pour ½ cup batter into skillet while swirling pan gently to distribute it evenly over pan bottom. Reduce heat to medium and cook crêpe until edges pull away from sides and are deep golden, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Gently slide spatula underneath edge of crêpe, grasp edge with fingertips, and flip crêpe. Cook until spotty brown on second side, 2 to 3 minutes. Slide crêpe out of skillet and onto prepared wire rack and transfer to oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining oil and remaining batter.
- Divide carrot mixture evenly among crêpes and fold crêpes in half. Serve crêpes with dipping sauce, passing garnish platter separately. (To eat, slice off wedge of crêpe, wrap in lettuce leaf, sprinkle with basil and cilantro, and dip into sauce.)
for the dressing and garnish
for the crêpes
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