Vietnamese Banh Xeo – Crispy Rice Flour Pancakes

If an omelette and a pancake had a baby, you’d have these tasty little Banh Xeo. Named for the sizzling sound they make when cooking in a hot pan, these crispy delights make the perfect filler for Vietnamese Cold Rolls.

We first came across Banh Xeo in Hoi An sitting on little plastic stools and stuffing them into rice paper rolls for lunch on the side of the road. We then learnt to cook them with the lovely ladies at Tra Que Water Wheel where we had a flippin’ great time creating these crunchy snacks.

Why this recipe works:

• A great dish for gatherings, so people can eat them separately or team them up with other Vietnamese dishes like rice paper rolls.
• You can switch up the protein to suit whatever you have in the fridge – even tofu!

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Why We Love This Recipe

Banh Xeo are crispy rice flour pancakes that are usually made with tasty little morsels of chicken, pork or fish cooked right into the pancake for extra deliciousness. 

We love flipping them in the air while cooking (of course you can use a spatula if you need!) – you can see how this turned out below the recipe for the both of us!

It’s great that these can be served as an appetiser or popped into a rice paper roll as a main meal.

Ready to get your sizzle on?

How to make Banh Xeo

Place the chicken, pork or seafood into a bowl with the shallots, garlic, turmeric powder, pepper and salt. Mix well to combine. Allow to marinate for 5 mins.

Add the rice flour and water to a bowl and mix to form a batter. Add the whisked egg mixture and spring onion into the batter. Mix well.

Heat the peanut oil in a small circular omelette pan over high heat. Place a small amount of the meat evenly across the pan, then pour over enough batter to fill the pan. Cover for 1 min. Flip and continue to cook.

Repeat flipping until meat is cooked and the banh xeo is golden brown and crispy. Add some bean sprouts then fold in half. Repeat for remaining banh xeo.

Serve with rice paper wrappers, fresh coriander and Vietnamese mint. Sweet and sour sauce is an amazing dip!

Banh Xeo Tips

• Make sure the pan is super hot to get that ultra crispy crunchy texture on your banh xeo.
• Use chopsticks or a spatula to flip the banh xeo, if you think your hand flipping may end up with a banh xeo on your roof!
• If you’re eating them with rice paper rolls prep all the other ingredients first, so the banh xeo is still nice and warm.

FAQs

How to make banh xeo really crispy?

Get that pan hot! It’s name means sizzling pancake and that’s what you want. The rice flour is also what gives these pancakes the crispy texture.

How to eat banh xeo

The two most popular ways are either buy themselves with some dipping sauce, or placed in Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls. They’re usually enjoyed hot, straight from the pan!

Where is banh xeo from?

Vietnam! As for where exactly though, some say around central Vietnam, although there are so many banh xeo varieties these days – you might as well try them all through your travels.

Variations & Substitutes

• Swap around your proteins with whatever you like. Pork, chicken, seafood, tofu, vegetables – it’s completely up to you.
• Replace the water with coconut water for a slightly different taste and version of this popular pancake!

Where We Learned This Recipe

Brrr! Shifting from hot and humid South East Asia to freezing cold Japan has been a bit of a shock to our system that’s for sure.

Today we decided to escape the cold and retreat inside with a frothy matcha green tea latte while we put the finishing touches on Vietnam: Discover. Cook. Eat. Woo!

Even so, the heater in this cosy little Japanese coffee shop is not quite warm enough to thaw the tips of our frozen toes. Remind me later I really need to buy some woolly socks.

Since our toes are dreaming of that sultry South East Asian weather we decided to share one last Vietnamese recipe to help warm us up from our trip through Hoi An, Vietnam.

If you’re an expert pancake flipper like Sarah then you’re in some luck. You can pull out those super awesome skills to flip these babies like a pro.

Exhibit A:

I gave it a try, I really did. But rather than a satisfying circle of awesomeness, all I ended up with was a rather sad mangled mess.

Exhibit B:

The results.

But that doesn’t matter! Who cares what it looks like, as long as it’s crispy, crunchy, and golden brown.

That’s what I say, anyway.

Serve up alongside a big bowl of chicken rice porridge for the ultimate Vietnamese dinner.

★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment & star rating below!