Sizzling Vietnamese crepes

Once you master these fragrant coconut milk crepes you'll be dreaming of all the things you can wrap in them. This recipe serves the crepes with stir-fried pork belly and prawns - a strong place to start.

Sizzling crepes Credit: One World Kitchen

• serves

  4-5

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• vegetable oil, for frying
• Nuoc cham dipping sauce (see note)

Batter

• 2 cups rice flour
• ½ cup (125 ml) coconut milk
• 2 cups (500 ml) water
• ½ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• ½ cup cornflour

Filling

• 250 g pork belly, thinly sliced
• 250 g shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1½ cups button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2⅓ cups bean sprouts

Table salad

• large handful of Boston lettuce leaves
• 5 sprigs mint
• 5 sprigs Thai (or regular) basil leaves
• 1 handful coriander leaves
• handful of shiso (optional)
• 1 ½ cups bean sprouts
• ½ cucumber, julienned

Instructions

1. In large bowl, add rice flour, coconut milk, water, salt, turmeric, spring onions, and cornflour. Mix well.
 
2. Add roughly a quarter of the pork belly in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high head and fry for a few minutes on each side. Add around a quarter of the shrimp and the yellow onion, and sauté for 30 seconds.
 
3. Stir up crepe batter, as some of it may have settled. Ladle some batter into the pan, then swirl so that it coats the surface in a thin, even layer. Pile roughly a quarter of the bean sprouts and mushrooms onto one side of the crepe, leaving some space near the very edges of the crepe.
 
4. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pan and cook for 4 to 5 minutes. The bean sprouts should be softened and the edges of the crepe should be starting to fall away from the pan.
 
5. Uncover and continue cooking until the shrimp and pork belly are completely cooked, and the crepe is crispy and browned on the bottom. You can check the bottom of the crepe to see if it’s browned by lifting an edge with a spatula.
   
   
6. Using a spatula, lift the half of the spatula that is not covered with bean sprouts and mushrooms and fold the crepe in half. Slide crepe gently onto plate. 
 
7. Repeat with remaining batter and filling, making sure to wipe the pan and add vegetable oil between each crepe.
 
8. Serve with table salad and nuoc cham dipping sauce. Eat by taking a piece of lettuce, putting some crepe inside it, then filling the crepe with some of the fresh herbs and beans sprouts. Dunk into the nuoc cham and take a bite.
   
   

Note:

● To make the nuoc cham sauce, combine 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar in a small heatproof bowl. Pour ½ cup hot water over top and stir until sugar has dissolved. Let cool. Meanwhile, add g1 minced garlic clove and 1 chopped Thai chilli to a bowl or mortar. Add 2 tablespoons of lime juice and use a pestle or fork to mash together. Add garlic mixture to fish sauce mixture and stir well to combine.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.