These Vietnamese Coconut Pancakes are from Meera Sodha’s popular cookbook, East. Fresh, herby slaw is stuffed into a coconut and turmeric crepe, wrapped in crisp lettuce and dunked into a citrusy, spicy vegetarian nuoc cham. They’re surprisingly filling and perfect to share with friends!
I was so excited to get my copy of Meera Sodha’s cookbook, East, which is filled with vegan and vegetarian recipes ‘from Bangalore to Beijing’. The cookbook features snacks and bright salads, noodles and curries galore, seasonal rice dishes and heaps more. I can’t wait to make the Vietnamese coffee ice cream…
In East, Meera has a recipe for Vietnamese Coconut Pancakes, or banh xeo, as they’re known in Vietnam.
The recipe is pretty traditional, except for the addition of an egg to the batter, which does give it a bit more of a crepe-like texture. Otherwise, the batter is made from rice flour and coconut milk, and of course, some turmeric, to give it that familiar yellow hue.
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Meera also makes an accompanying dipping sauce, a nuoc cham chay, which uses soy sauce instead of the more common fish sauce found in a traditional nuoc cham.
The nuoc cham chay is zingy and spicy, and pairs really well with the cabbage and carrot slaw banh xeo filling, brightening up the fresh flavours of the added herbs.
It’s a fantastic vegetarian version to the usual surf and turf banh xeo you typically find across Vietnam and in restaurants here in Melbourne.
But what is Banh Xeo?
Banh xeo literally means ‘sizzling cake’, and is an onomatopoeia for the sizzling sound the rice flour batter makes when poured onto a hot pan.
Pronounced bun SAY-oh, it’s a savoury, rice flour-based thin crepe with crispy, lace-like edges. Traditionally made with prawn, pork and lots of bean sprouts, it is usually yellow because of the turmeric used to flavour the batter. Usually…
Each region has its own take on a banh xeo, its size and the ingredients used for fillings, which can include mung beans, mushrooms, lotus, taro and chicken as well. Some regions don’t use turmeric, resulting in a whiter pancake instead. Others use beer instead of water to thin out the batter. Some regions also add fish mint to the basket of herbs to enjoy with your banh xeo.
Even the way you eat it can vary. In some parts of Vietnam, you wrap pieces of your pancake in rice paper with sour mango, green banana and herbs, and dunk it in a peanut sauce. In other regions, you wrap it in fresh greens instead and try to keep it all rolled together as you gingerly dip it into a bowl of nuoc cham.
You can also eat it as is, though I would definitely recommend adding a generous helping of fresh Vietnamese mint.
A few Tips for Making Meera Sodha’s Vietnamese Coconut Pancakes
- Batter – The batter is thinner then you may be expecting, and this is a good thing as it’s what helps the crispy edges to form. Don’t be tempted to thicken it by adding in more flour. Make sure to let the batter rest for at least 10 minutes.
- Mise en place – You’ll have a less frustrating cooking experience if you have everything else ready to go before you start cooking your first banh xeo.
- Heat – Like any crepe-style dish, your first one will usually be a bit of a mess or won’t get a nice colour. Success in achieving the lace-like appearance on the bottom of the banh xeo is a piping hot pan.
- Crispiness – The amount of batter that you pour into the pan will vary and will depend on two things: the size of your frying pan, and how quickly you’re able to swirly the batter around in the pan.
- Filling – Meera likes to make all her coconut pancakes at once, and then add the salad filling just before serving. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the raw crunch of the salad filling against the softer texture of the pancake. Instead, I added the slaw to one side of an almost cooked pancake while it was still in the pan, and let the pancake fully cook through before folding it over the veggies. This method let the cabbage soften just a little so that it was still beautifully crunchy, but not completely raw, which for me, offered a more complimentary texture between the pancake and the veggies.
Looking for more Vietnamese-Inspired dishes? Try these:
Meera Sodha’s Vietnamese Coconut Pancakes (Banh Xeo)
Ingredients
- 220 g rice flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 egg
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 175 ml water
- 200 g red cabbage, around ¼, finely shredded
- 2 slim carrots, julienned
- 5 spring onions, finely chopped
- 40 g fresh mixed herbs, coriander, mint, Thai basil and Vietnamese mint, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 5 tablespoons lime juice, from around 3 limes
- 3½ teaspoons sugar
- 1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1½ bird’s-eye chillies, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Rapeseed oil
To Serve:
- Fresh green leaves, either one or a mixture of lettuce leaves, mustard greens and Vietnamese perilla
- Extra herbs, leaves left whole, a combination of mint, Vietnamese mint and coriander
Instructions
- Start by making the batter. In a large bowl, mix together the rice flour, salt, turmeric and egg. Add the coconut milk and water and whisk until the batter is smooth and runny. Set aside to stand for at least 10 minutes.
- Next, make the slaw. In a different large bowl, combine the shredded cabbage, carrots, spring onions and herbs. Set aside while you make the nuoc cham chay.
- To make the nuoc cham chay, add the lime juice, sugar, soy sauce, chillies and garlic into a small bowl and mix well. Pour around half of the sauce over the slaw and mix. Taste, adding one tablespoon at a time until you’re happy with the ratio of sauce to slaw. Pour the remainder of the sauce into a small serving bowl for dipping.
- To make the banh xeo, heat a teaspoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan (see notes) over a medium flame, swirling it around to coat the pan. When the frying pan is piping hot, pour around ¾ of a ladleful (see notes) of batter into the pan. Working quickly, swirl the pan around so that the batter reaches the edges of the pan.
- Let it cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until small bubbles form and the batter firms up. While it’s still cooking in the pan, add a handful of the slaw to one side of the pancake and let it heat up slightly until the bottom of the pancake is slightly crispy and golden. Fold the banh xeo over the filling and gently slide onto a plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter until you have 6-10 pancakes (see notes).
- Serve the banh xeo with fresh green leaves, lots of herbs and the rest of the nuoc cham chay. To eat it, start with a lettuce leaf base, layer on other leaves and herbs and top with a piece of banh xeo. Roll it up as best you can (this will depend on the type of lettuce you’re using), dunk it into the dressing and enjoy!
