Vietnamese crepes with prawns and pork Bánh Xèo

My homemade Vietnamese crepes have a delicious, crispy batter filled with prawns, thinly sliced pork, mung bean, and bean sprouts. The finished crepe gets wrapped in lettuce along with fragrant herbs, and dunk in an addicting tangy spicy dipping sauce.

My mom and I have been spending a lot of time together cooking and reminiscing about our time in Vietnam. It made me nostalgic for my childhood and some of my first food memories. I remember wandering through the local open air markets with my mom and snacking on various street foods like bánh xèo, also known as Vietnamese crepes. 

Bánh xèo is  a quintessential Vietnamese dish and named after the sizzling sounds it makes when the batter hits the smoking hot pan. These Vietnamese crepes are filled with prawns, pork, mung bean, and bean sprouts. The finished crepe is broken up into small pieces, wrapped in lettuce along with fragrant herbs, and dunk in an addicting tangy spicy dipping sauce called nước chấm.

The best bánh xèo I have tasted was at the legendary Bánh Xèo 46A Đinh Công Tráng which required me to get on 4 different bus routes and a long walk from my hometown of Thủ Đức just to find the narrow alley that it’s nestled in. It’s a complete sensory treat as you watch these skilled ladies pumping out Vietnamese crepes over the giant charcoal braziers like no one’s business. The crepes you get are crispy with a hint of smokiness and incredibly delicious. You can watch how they make the crepes here. Until we can safely travel again, I’m making my mom’s banh xeo to curb the cravings.

Ingredient notes

• Rice flour: for this recipe, make sure you get rice flour and not glutinous flour. It’s an inexpensive regular shelf item at the Asian grocery stores.
• Corn starch: with the addition of cornstarch, the texture of the Vietnamese crepe will be more crispy.
• Turmeric: turmeric gives the crepe their brilliant yellow color. A little bit goes a long way. Adding too much will lend a bitter taste once cooked.
• Yellow split mung bean: you need to soak these the night before or for 6 hours to soften them before steaming.
• Coconut cream: adding coconut cream adds a bit of richness to the batter.
• Pork: you can use any cuts you like–shoulder, butt, belly. They just need to be thinly sliced. Some people like to use ground pork and that works too.
• Prawn: I like to use size 26/30 which means there are 26 to 30 prawns per pound. When you use bigger prawns make sure to halve them so they cook faster. Smaller prawns also make it easier to fold the crepe.

Tips for making the batter

Once you make the batter, let it rest for an hour. The batter can be made 2 days ahead, covered, and stored in the fridge. Bring the batter to room temperature before you cook it.

For Vietnamese crepes, you need a thin batter. Look for a consistency slightly thicker than heavy cream but not thick like pancake. When you make your first crepe and have a hard time swirling the batter around the pan, the consistency is too thick. Add half a tablespoon of water at a time to thin it down.

Tips for cooking the crepes

If it’s your first time making Vietnamese crepes, reading through these tips will make the cooking process more efficient and fun.

• Use a non-stick, well-seasoned skillet or shallow wok. Avoid cast iron pans as they make it harder to swirl the batter and will burn your crepes too quickly.
• Portion out your fillings so all the crepes have the same amount of prawns, pork, mung bean, and bean sprouts. Use a large chopping board, baking sheet, or plate large enough to hold all the portions.
• Give the batter a quick stir to redistribute the flour that had settled at the bottom.
• Medium-high heat is the best level for making it crispy without burning it. You want the pan hot! If the batter didn’t sizzle and bubble upon contact, the skillet isn’t hot enough.
• Use at least a tablespoon of oil to coat your pan. My mom taught me to get extra crispy Vietnamese crepes, you need copious amount of lard, at least 1/3 cup per crepe. The extra lard is poured off once the crepe is cooked so you’re actually not consuming all of it.
• Cook your prawns and pork directly on the pan which adds more flavor.
• Use about 1/3 cup of batter per crepe. My recipe will give a total of 6 crepes.
• Pick up the pan and swirl the batter all around to coat the bottom and all the fillings. If needed add extra batter to fill the empty spots.
• To make it easier to fold the crepe later on, distribute the fillings on two sides, leaving a border in the middle without anything.

How long to cook the crepes for

Cook the meat and prawns first which takes about 1 minute to brown. Once you add the batter, mung bean, and bean sprouts, cover with a lid and cook for 3 more minutes until the bean sprouts soften and protein done. Uncover and drizzle about half a tablespoon of oil around the edges and cook for another 1 minute to get it extra crispy before folding it in half. You need about 5 minutes per crepes but adjust the heat and amount of oil as you cook to get it to the crispiness that you like.

Vietnamese crepes are best eaten as they are made. If you need to keep them warm and crisp while finishing the whole batch, leave them on a baking sheet in the oven at 225 degrees until ready to serve.

What to serve the crepes with

Vietnamese crepes are traditionally served with a dipping sauce and fresh herbs like young green mustard (cải bẹ xanh), lettuce, Vietnamese mint (rau răm), Thai basil (húng quế ), peppermint (húng cay), and Vietnamese perilla (tiá tô).

How to eat the crepe

There are a few ways of eating these delicious Vietnamese crepes. The most traditional way is rolling pieces of crepe in a large leaf of green mustard or lettuce along with the Vietnamese herbs and dipping everything in the nước chấm. This is how my mom and I enjoy them. Other people like to roll everything up in rice paper similar to spring rolls. And the last but easiest of all is tearing up the crepe, putting everything in the bowl along with the herbs, and drizzling the dipping sauce all over.

For as long as I could remember, Vietnamese crepe was one of the earliest street foods that my mom introduced me to. There’s nothing like breaking into a crispy, hot off the pan crepe. The batter has a hint of richness from the coconut cream while the fillings bring all the different flavors and textures. Along with the fresh herbs and  nước chấm, your taste buds are in for a treat! Making these crepes is as fun as eating them. Give it a try and you’ll master them in no time!

For more Vietnamese food inspiration, check these recipes: Vietnamese prawn and sweet potato fritters, Vietnamese shaking beef.