Diana Chan's recipe for Vietnamese gluten-free pancakes

During my visit to Hoi An over Easter this year, I stumbled upon a lot of street food that I had never tried before.

Though I have tried banh xeo many times before in Australia, I sampled one of the best ones yet on a street stall tucked under a large palm tree along one of the main streets of Old Town Hoi An.

Banh xeo is a savoury Vietnamese pancake very similar to a crepe made from rice flour, coconut and turmeric which makes it gluten free.

It was crispy on the outside and had a good amount of filing of prawns, thinly sliced pork belly, bean sprouts and lots of fresh Asian herbs.

You can easily make this dish vegetarian by removing the pork belly and prawns and substituting them with fried tofu.

Sitting on small plastic chairs, watching the traffic go by as motorcyclists manoeuvre from every direction it is somewhat organised chaos but I wouldn’t change it for the world.

Banh Xeo (Vietnamese gluten-free pancakes)
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1¼  cups rice flour

2 tbsp cornflour

1 tsp turmeric powder

Pinch of salt

400 ml coconut cream

¼  cup water

100g cooked pork belly, thinly sliced

12 cooked prawns, peeled

2 cups bean sprouts

½ bunch spring onions, finely sliced

3 carrots, peeled and julienned

1 bunch Vietnamese mint

1 bunch coriander

1 lime

Nuoc cham sauce

½  cup warm water

½ cup caster sugar

½ cup fish sauce (use soy for vegetarian option)

⅓ cup lime juice

1 red chilli, finely diced

Method:

1. In a large bowl, combine the two flours, turmeric, salt, coconut cream, and water and whisk until you get a smooth batter. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.
2. Heat a 20cm nonstick fry pan over medium heat. Add in 3 prawns and a few pieces of pork and fry for a couple of minutes. Remove and set aside to add back later.
3. Next, add 2 tbsp of oil and add a ladle of batter to the pan, swirling to coat base and slightly up sides of the pan. Cook with lid on for 5 minutes or until crispy and golden on the base. Scatter with bean sprouts, carrot, spring onions, and herbs. Add in the cooked prawns and pork. Fold to enclose like you would an omelette. Repeat with extra batter and ingredients.
4. For the nuoc cham sauce, combine all ingredients into a bowl, and mix well.
5. Serve the banh xeo with nuoc nam and chilli sauce (optional) and a squeeze of lime.