Crispy Vietnamese CrÊpes With Shrimp Pork And Bean Sprouts Recipes

VIETNAMESE CREPES WITH PORK, SHRIMP AND BEAN SPROUTS

Steps:

• Prepare the filling ingredients so they're ready to stir-fry when the crepes are cooked. Slice the pork against the grain into thin strips about 2.5cm (1in) long, put into a bowl, sprinkle with ¾tsp of salt and mix well. Put the shrimp in a bowl, sprinkle with a ½tsp of salt and mix well. Rinse the bean sprouts and leave them in a colander to drain thoroughly. Slice the spring onions into 2cm (⅞in) lengths.
• Make the dipping sauce. Mix the fish sauce with the lime juice, vinegar and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Mince the garlic and cut the chillies into thin rounds, squeezing out and discarding the seeds as you go. Add the garlic and chillies to the bowl of dipping sauce, then taste it and adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Dilute the dipping sauce with about 30ml (2tbsp) of cold water, or more, if it tastes too strong. Ladle into individual dipping bowls.
• Put the lettuce, herbs and pickled vegetables on a platter.
• Mix the rice flour with the plain flour, turmeric and salt. Use a whisk to stir in the coconut milk and the cold water. The batter should be smooth and slightly thicker than French crepe batter; if necessary, stir in a little more cold water.
• Heat a non-stick skillet (about 20cm/8in in diameter) over a medium flame. Very lightly coat the pan with oil, rubbing it in with a paper towel. When the skillet is very hot, stir the batter well, then ladle it into the pan. Immediately swirl the pan so the batter is in a thin, even layer. Cook over a medium flame until the edges of the crepe start coming away from the pan and the surface is matte and firm to the touch. Leave for a few more seconds to lightly brown the bottom of the crepe, then use a rubber spatula to loosen the edges from the pan. Shake the skillet - the crepe should slide around easily. Slide the crepe onto a plate and make more crepes the same way. Each time, lightly oil the pan, and stir the batter well before ladling it into the skillet. Stack the crepes as they are cooked.
• When all the crepes are ready, cook the filling. Heat a wok and, when it's very hot, add about 15ml (1tbsp) of cooking oil. Add the pork, sprinkle it with pepper to taste, then stir-fry until fully cooked. Put the pork into a large, clean bowl. Place the wok back over the flame and add about 15ml (1tbsp) of cooking oil. Add the shrimp then stir-fry until they curl and turn pink. Put the shrimp in the bowl with the pork. Heat the wok again, pour in about 15ml (1tbsp) of cooking oil and, when it's very hot, add the bean sprouts, spring onions and a sprinkling of salt. Stir-fry very quickly, just to heat the bean sprouts slightly, but don't overcook them or they'll wilt. Put the bean sprouts and spring onions in the bowl with the pork and shrimp and thoroughly mix all the ingredients together. Taste the mixture and add a little more salt and pepper, if necessary.
• Each diner should lay a crepe on their plate, add some filling, then fold the crepe in half. Wrap some of the crepe and filling in a lettuce leaf and add whatever herbs and pickled vegetables they want. Dip the lettuce wrap in the sauce before eating.

BáNH XèO (VIETNAMESE SIZZLING PANCAKES / CREPêS)

Steps:

• Combine all batter ingredients except scallions in a large bowl for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Add scallions only right before making the crêpes.
• Steam or soak mung beans in water until soft.
• Boil pork until cooked through and soft, then slice thinly.
• Wash bean sprouts and veggies.
• On medium-high heat add 1-2 teaspoons of oil and some onions
• Immediately add a few pieces of pork and shrimp. Sauté, lightly mixing until very lightly browned and fragrant.
• Pour in some batter and quickly tilt & rotate the pan so the batter is evenly spread. Add more batter if it wasn't enough to cover the pan. There should only be a thin layer of batter that almost flakes off at the pan edges where it's thinner. If your batter doesn't do that and is too thick, add a few tbsp water to the batter and mix to thin it out.
• Lower the heat to medium. Add some mung beans, bean sprouts, and cover with a lid for about 3 minutes, or until bean sprouts are slightly cooked. The batter should also be slightly cooked and transparent around the edges. This step cooks the top side of the ingredients and batter while it steams since we won't be flipping the crepe.
• Remove the lid, lower heat to medium-low and wait for the crêpe to become crisp. This takes about 5-7 minutes. This step lets the ingredients fully cook through, including the batter. It also lets steam escape so the batter can crisp up. Brush on a little oil around the edges if you're not seeing or hearing enough batter to pan contact. Fold in half, transfer to a plate and serve immediately. For batter troubleshooting please see the troubleshooting section in the post above.

VIETNAMESE SHRIMP AND PORK CREPES (BANH XEO)

Steps:

• Make crêpe batter:
• Cover dried mung beans with water by 2 inches in a bowl and soak at room temperature, at least 30 minutes. Drain in a sieve, then rinse under cold water until water runs clear.
• Purée drained mung beans, coconut milk, and water (6 tablespoons) in a blender (mixture may appear curdled). Add rice flour, sugar, turmeric, and salt and purée until smooth. Transfer to a bowl.
• Make dipping sauce:
• Stir together sauce ingredients until sugar is dissolved.
• Make filling:
• Cut pork across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick slices, then cut slices into 2 1/2- by 1/2-inch strips. Stir together pork, shrimp, fish sauce, and brown sugar.
• Mince enough of lower portion of lemongrass stalk to measure 2 teaspoons.
• Heat oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking, then stir-fry onion, mushrooms, lemongrass, garlic, and pepper until mushrooms are golden, about 3 minutes. Make a well in center of mixture and add shrimp and pork and stir-fry until shrimp turns pink, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a clean bowl. (Shrimp and pork will not be cooked through.)
• Cook crépes:
• Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 200°F.
• Heat 1 teaspoon oil in cleaned skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking. Stir batter, then pour 1/2 cup into skillet, immediately tilting and rotating skillet to coat bottom. Sprinkle one fourth of fresh bean sprouts over half of crpe, then stir filling and spoon one fourth of filling evenly on top of bean sprouts. Sprinkle one fourth of scallions on top. Reduce heat to moderately low and cook, covered, until edge of crpe begins to pull away from side of skillet (check occasionally), about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook crépe, uncovered, until underside and edge are crisp and golden, 2 to 3 minutes more (lift with a spatula to check underside; shrimp and pork will be fully cooked). Fold crépe over and gently slide onto a large rack on a large baking pan and keep warm in oven. Make 3 more crépes with remaining oil, batter, bean sprouts, filling, and scallions in same manner.
• Have each guest tear crépes in half and wrap each half in lettuce, then tuck in herbs. Serve with lime wedges and dipping sauce.