The truth is that I could probably eat Asian-style food almost everyday and my pantry reflects the amount of asian spices and condiments I stock. For the best part of the year I am mostly on my own, making it very convenient to quickly pull together an asian meal. One of my favourite Asian foodies has to be Marion´s Kitchen. She keeps it real and she keeps it simple. You can see the video on how to make Marion´s crispy pancakes here.
This is her version of Banh Xeo pancakes and many would say that it is not authentic. Traditionally one would add porkbelly, prawns, mung beans and wrap it all up in mustard greens. But here’s the thing, for me this is all about a quick healthy meal, if I have leftover porkbelly in the fridge then obviously I will use it. The emphasis is on quick and being sustainable, as in use what you have!
Anyhoo, the trick is to get the heat of the pan just right, you might have to discard that first one like most pancake bakes. The extra bonus is that the pancake itself is gluntenfree, egg free and dairy free and the filling is entirely up to you!
Bon appetite!
You’ll need
- • For the pancakes
- 140g x rice flour
- ½ tsp x turmeric
- ¼ tsp x sea salt
- ½ cup x coconut milk
- ½ cup water
- Vegetable oil
- • For the filling
- 1 x cup shredded cooked chicken (leftover roast chicken or rotisserie chicken is great)
- 1 x small carrot, julienned into fine strips or coarsely grated
- 100g x bean shoots
- Sprigs of coriander
- Mint leaves to serve
- Lettuce leaves to serve
- 2 x spring onions, finely sliced
- • Nuoc cham dressing:
- 3 Tbsp x fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp x white vinegar
- 3 Tbsp x sugar
- 1 Tbsp x lime juice
- 1 x long red chilli, finely chopped
- 2 x garlic cloves, finely chopped
Method
- To make the batter, combine the rice flour, turmeric and sea salt in a large bowl.
- Whisk in the coconut milk, ½ cup of water and spring onions. Set aside for 10 minutes.
- For the nuoc cham dressing, whisk together the ingredients and set aside until ready to serve.
- Heat a 22cm non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil to just cover the bottom of the pan. Add one-third of the batter, swirling to thinly cover the pan.
- Scatter one-third of the chicken, carrot and bean shoots over half the pancake. Top with a couple of sprigs of coriander. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the pancake is crispy and golden on the bottom side.
- Fold the pancake over to cover the filling, then slide onto a serving plate and keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter and filling, adding oil each time.
- Scatter with sliced spring onions and serve with herbs, lettuce and nuoc cham dressing.
TIP : Instead of the chicken, you could substitute any cooked meats or seafood.