Real African Dishes: [MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Vietnamese Ban Xeo

Friday, July 29, 2011

[MC-AllEthnic-Recipes] Vietnamese Ban Xeo - Vegetarian Street Pancake Crepe

* Exported from MasterCook *

Vietnamese Ban Xeo - Vegetarian Street Pancake Crepe

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Veggie

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
Crepe:
1 1/3 cups rice flour
1 small egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 3/4 cups coconut milk -- canned
To fry: -- sunflower oil
Sauce:
2 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce -- kecap manis
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 fresh red chile -- finely chopped
1 garlic clove -- crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
Filling:
1 large carrot -- peeled
1 daikon radish -- peeled
4 green onions
1 fresh green chili pepper
1 1/2 cups snow peas
1 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
2/3 cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed mint leaves
1 cup mung bean sprouts
1 cup enoki mushrooms

Blend the rice flour, egg, salt, and turmeric in a large bowl. Slowly add the coconut milk, whisking well to avoid any lumps. You want to get a thinnish pancake batter with the consistency of light cream. Add more coconut milk or water, if necessary (you may need to add some later, when you are cooking the pancakes, because the batter tends to thicken). Set aside to rest.

To make the sauce: just whisk together all the ingredients, adjusting the amount of chile to your taste.

To make the filling: shred the carrot and daikon thinly. Slice the green onion on an angle, and cut the green chile and snow peas into long, thin strips. Pick the herb leaves. Set all the prepared vegetables and herbs aside with the sprouts and mushrooms.

When you are ready to serve the pancakes, heat up a large nonstick frying pan that is roughly 9-inches in diameter, making sure it doesn't get extremely hot. Add a tiny amount of sunflower oil.

Pour in about one-quarter of the batter and swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. The edges of the pancake can be thinner than the center and turn crisp or it can all have the same thickness as a regular pancake. Once the underside is golden brown, turn the pancake over and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you make the other three pancakes.

Place a warm pancake on each serving plate and pile vegetables and herbs over one half of it. Drizzle the vegetables with some sauce and fold the other half of the pancake over them. Spoon some more sauce on top and serve, with any remaining sauce on the side.

Serves 4

AuthorNote: in 2007 I visited Hanoi with my friend Alex Meitlis, and found myself squatting in the dingiest of family-run street kitchens, experiencing the best food I've ever tested. The freshness of the vegetables and herbs was mind-blowing.

Here's a vegetarian adaptation of a traditional Vietnamese pancake, normally consisting of fatty pork and prawns. I add sweet soy to the dipping sauce to make up for omitting the Vietnamese fish sauce, nuoc mam.

Cuisine:
"Asian"
Source:
"Plenty: Vibrant Vegetables Recipes from London's Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi, 2011."
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi):
"July 2011"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 595 Calories; 33g Fat (47.8% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 69g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 53mg Cholesterol; 603mg Sodium. Exchanges: 3 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 2 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 6 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0