Following recent, recurring trips to Viet Hoa in Shoreditch, I have developed quite the penchant for Banh Xeo, a Vietnamese dish involving a paper thin pancake, stuffed with crisp beansprouts, herbs, and either veg, tofu or a fatty meat such as pork.
I am not going to attempt to suggest to you that this is a proper Bahn Xeo recipe, as the lack of authenticity in my version would be practically food blasphemy to some, but instead, here is my simplified, and ingredients-wise, Anglicised version.
While the pancake traditionally should include coconut powder in place of flour, I actually quit like to make it as more of a thin omelette, using just the egg, along with a little chilli powder and turmeric for flavour.
For the filling, beansprouts, fresh coriander and some finely shredded iceberg lettuce are a must for me, but in terms of meat and other veg, feel free to play around with whatever you have/fancy.
Ingredients (serves 2)
2 free-range eggs
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 handful of beansprouts
1 handful of shredded iceberg lettuce
1 red pepper (finely chopped)
2 spring onions (finely chopped)
100g of pork mince
1 teaspoon of veg oil
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
Enough good chilli sauce to drizzle when serving
1 handful of fresh coriander
Directions
Heat the veg oil in a bit non-stick wok and throw in the pork mince with the garlic. Stir fry on a high heat for 2mins before adding the pepper and spring onion. Fry for a further 3-4mins until the mince is cooked and set aside to keep warm.
Whisk the eggs with the chilli powder and turemric and pour half into the wok, which shoukd still be oily from the meat. Swirl around to make a thin pancake and fry for 1-2mins until set. Turn out onto a plate and repeat with the other half.
Pile the meat mix onto the pancake with the beansprouts, coriander and lettuce and fold over. Serve with plenty of chilli sauce for drizzling and dipping.
Image via Go Panda