Vietnamese recipe

Bánh Xèo — Sizzling Pork and Shrimp Crêpes

Name: Bánh Xèo — Sizzling Pork and Shrimp Crêpes
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Vietnamese cuisine
Ingredients: 180 g rice flour, not glutinous; 45 g cornstarch; 2 g turmeric powder; 3 g salt; 150 ml unsweetened coconut milk; 450 ml water: 350 ml batter, 100 ml dip; 30 g scallions, finely sliced; 250 g pork shoulder, 3 mm slices; 250 g medium shrimp, peeled and deveined; 150 g onion, thinly sliced; 200 g bean sprouts; 60 ml neutral oil, divided; 50 ml fish sauce: 10 ml pork, 40 ml dip; 1 g black pepper; 40 ml lime juice; 25 g sugar; 8 g garlic, minced; 5 g red chile, minced; 250 g lettuce; 40 g mint, cilantro, and perilla leaves

Thin turmeric rice-flour crêpes fold around shrimp, pork, onion, and bean sprouts. The open-pan finish creates crisp edges, ready to wrap with lettuce and fragrant herbs.

Vietnam

Prep: 40 min
Cook: 50 min
Total: 1 hr 30 min
Servings: 4

Ingredients

180 g
rice flour, not glutinous
45 g
cornstarch
2 g
turmeric powder
3 g
salt
150 ml
unsweetened coconut milk
450 ml
water: 350 ml batter, 100 ml dip
30 g
scallions, finely sliced
250 g
pork shoulder, 3 mm slices
250 g
medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
150 g
onion, thinly sliced
200 g
bean sprouts
60 ml
neutral oil, divided
50 ml
fish sauce: 10 ml pork, 40 ml dip
1 g
black pepper
40 ml
lime juice
25 g
sugar
8 g
garlic, minced
5 g
red chile, minced
250 g
lettuce
40 g
mint, cilantro, and perilla leaves

Method

01
Rest the thin batter
Whisk rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric, salt, coconut milk, and 350 ml water until smooth. Rest 30 minutes, then add scallions. It should pour like light cream; stir from the bottom before measuring each crêpe.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
02
Prepare the dip and greens
Dissolve sugar in 100 ml warm water, cool, and add 40 ml fish sauce, lime, garlic, and chile. Wash and dry lettuce and herbs. Rinse sprouts and drain very well; wet sprouts soften the shell.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
03
Cook the pork and onion
Heat 10 ml oil over medium-high heat in a 28–30 cm nonstick skillet. Stir-fry onion 2 minutes, add pork, remaining 10 ml fish sauce, and pepper, and cook 4–5 minutes until cooked through and the thickest pork slice reaches 71°C. Transfer to a clean plate.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
04
Sear the shrimp
Add 10 ml oil to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Sear shrimp 1–2 minutes per side until opaque throughout and 63°C in the thickest part. Divide cooked shrimp, pork-onion mixture, and sprouts into four portions.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
05
Spread one thin crêpe
Wipe the pan clean and heat 10 ml oil over medium-high. Stir batter thoroughly and pour one quarter, tilting immediately into a thin layer. It should sizzle on contact. Lower heat to medium and cook uncovered for 2 minutes.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
06
Fill and briefly steam
Arrange one portion each of pork, onion, shrimp, and sprouts on one half. Cover for 2 minutes over medium heat until sprouts are hot and the batter surface has set. Remove the lid carefully without dripping condensation onto the crêpe.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
07
Dry the shell and fold
Cook uncovered over medium-low heat 4–6 minutes until the edge lifts and the underside is golden and crisp. Fold the empty half over the filling using two spatulas. Do not press down; transfer straight to a plate.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph
08
Repeat and eat while crisp
Cook the other three crêpes with 10 ml oil each, stirring batter before every pour. Serve immediately with lettuce, herbs, and dipping sauce. Tear bite-size portions to wrap in leaves; leave finished crêpes uncovered while others cook.
Cooking-step illustration, not a photograph

Practical notes

Tips

A 28–30 cm nonstick pan makes four large, thin crêpes from this batter.
Serve each crêpe as it finishes; crispness is best before steam collects.
Optional restaurant-style sides for the whole batch: 120 g sliced cucumber, 120 g sliced tomato, and 100 g drained Vietnamese carrot-daikon pickles. Serve beside the greens, not inside the crêpes.

Common mistakes

Rice flour settles quickly: unstirred batter gives watery early crêpes and thick late ones.
A lid left on through the final stage traps water and prevents a crisp edge.

Substitutions

Replace coconut milk with 150 ml water for a less rich shell; the colour still comes from turmeric.
Pork belly may replace shoulder in the same amount; slice equally thin and drain rendered fat before continuing.

Storage

Best freshly cooked. Refrigerate within 2 hours below 4°C for up to 2 days. Reheat open on a rack at 190°C for 8–12 minutes until the filling reaches 74°C; keep greens and sauce separate.

Cultural context

Bánh xèo takes its name from the sizzling sound of batter meeting a hot pan. Size and fillings differ by region; this large coconut-milk version is suited to sharing with leafy greens.

Sources and photo credit

This standardized method was independently rewritten after cross-checking the references below. Recipe Nest Vault does not claim that the credited photographer cooked from this exact version.

Recipe references

Bánh xèo 1 — Photograph by Kent Wang from Austin, TX; CC BY-SA 2.0.

Step illustrations: Original illustrations created by Recipe Nest Vault with OpenAI image_gen.

Back to Vietnamese recipes

Bánh Xèo — Sizzling Pork and Shrimp Crêpes

Ingredients

Method

Rest the thin batter

Prepare the dip and greens

Cook the pork and onion

Sear the shrimp

Spread one thin crêpe

Fill and briefly steam

Dry the shell and fold

Repeat and eat while crisp

Sources and photo credit

Recipe references

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