Easy Banh Xeo – Crispy Vietnamese Crepes

Meet Banh Xeo, crispy Vietnamese crepes like an omelette and pancake rolled into one. Named for the sizzling sound they make when cooking in a hot pan, these savoury bites are the perfect filler for rice paper rolls.

Why We Love This

A great dish for gatherings or to make with the whole family. People can eat them separately with a simple nuoc cham dipping sauce (a fish sauce based sweet and sour sauce with a hint of chilli) or team them up with other Vietnamese dishes like fried spring rolls or Vietnamese pizza if you have leftover rice paper.

With the variety of ways you can eat bánh xèo, they’re so versatile. Make it a snack, or turn it into an sure meal!

What are Crispy Vietnamese Crepes? 

Bánh Xèo are Vietnamese sizzling crepes made with rice flour and topped with tasty morsels of meat and a sprinkling of bean sprouts and / or mung beans.

These delicacies are usually bought as a street food snack OR cooked at home with family and friends. Depending on the region of Vietnam, there are many variations on this wonderful dish. From the size, to the ingredients and even the way the crepes are eaten.

Today’s version is how we learnt it – central Vietnam style from Hoi An. These are smaller in size, usually cooked on a small cast iron frying pan (some varieties in Saigon are cooked on big woks!) and served up with fresh herbs all rolled together into rice paper rolls and dipped into nuoc mam.

Ngon qua! (Delicious!)

Where We Learned This

We first came across Banh Xeo in Hoi An sitting on those little red and blue 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.

How to make Banh Xeo at home:

• 

• 

• 

1. Place the chicken, pork or seafood into a bowl with the shallots, garlic and turmeric powder. Mix well to combine. Allow to marinate for 5 mins.
2. Add the rice flour, turmeric powder, salt and pepper, egg and water to a bowl and mix to form a batter. Sprinkle in the spring onion and give it another quick mix.
3. Use an oil brush to coat the vegetable oil in a small frying pan over high heat. Pour in your marinated meat and cook for a minute or two on each side until par-cooked. Remove from the pan.

• 

• 

• 

4. Re-oil the pan with your oil brush, place a small amount of the par-cooked meat evenly across the pan, then pour over one ladle of to fill the pan. Swirl the batter around to fill any holes and neaten the edges.
5. Add a handful of bean sprouts / mung beans to one half of your crepe. Then use your oil brush again to coat more vegetable oil around the outside edges of the crepe for the ultimate crispiness!
6. Next, cover with a lid for 1 min to steam the bean sprouts and cook the meat through.

• 

• 

• 

7. Remove the lid and allow to cook for another minute or two until the base starts to brown. Next, using a spatula, fold the banh xeo in half and serve!
8. Repeat by brushing the oil onto the pan again and cooking the remaining banh xeo.
9. Optional: Make into a rice paper roll. Dip your rice paper into a bowl of lukewarm water, then place on a large plate. Layer with herbs such as mint and cilantro / coriander, then place a piece or your whole banh xeo on top. Fold over the bottom, then edges and roll up tightly to the top.
10. Serve with your favourite dipping sauces such as nuoc mam cham, peanut hoisin or even Thai nam jim jaew.

Wandercook’s Tips

• Prep First – If you’re eating them with rice paper rolls, prep all the other ingredients first, so the pancakes are still nice and warm.
• Stir Before You Pour – Always give your batter a stir before pouring as the rice flour tends to settle on the bottom.
• Using shrimp or prawns? No need to pre-cook them as they’ll only need a few minutes in the pan to be cooked through.
• Hot Pan – Make sure the pan is super hot to get that ultra crispy texture on your banh xeo. The rice flour is also what helps to give you those crispy edges. If it starts to burn too quick, just lower the temperature to a medium-high and cook it for longer.

FAQs

Variations

• Replace The Water – for a slightly different taste and version of this popular pancake, swap the water for coconut milk or coconut water.
• Pre-mix Banh Xeo Flour – You can buy pre-mixed banh xeo flour which includes some all purpose flour (wheat based flour), but we think it’s easiest just to use regular rice flour.

Here’s our most popular Asian savoury pancake recipes:

• 

• 

• 

• 

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