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.
★ Did you make this recipe? Please leave a comment & star rating below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- Rice paper sheets
- 100 g bean sprouts
- 100 g fresh cilantro / coriander fresh
- 100 g Vietnamese mint fresh
- vegetable oil
For the Batter
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 egg whisked
- 1 spring onion / green onion finely sliced
- 2 tsp tumeric powder
- 1 pinch Salt & pepper
For the Marinade
- 200 g chicken or pork or seafood diced small
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- 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 that we made for our fried spring rolls is an amazing dip if you need a recipe!
Recipe Notes
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!
26 Comments
Mikayla Anderson
24/12/2019 at 8:19 pmI used rice flour but it didn’t work. What type of rice flour ?!?!
Wandercooks
07/01/2020 at 2:44 pmWe used regular rice flour, and not sticky rice flour. Not sure what part didn’t work but one trick is to ensure your pan and the oil is super hot when you pop the batter in!
Patty at Spoonabilities
05/09/2019 at 1:11 pmI am really excited to try your recipe! I LOVE Vietnamese food and these don’t look difficult to make at all!
Wandercooks
06/09/2019 at 11:21 amSame, Vietnamese is definitely up there with one of our favourite cuisines. 🙂
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes
05/09/2019 at 12:46 pmAnother divine recipe!
Loving these flavours – and the whole family LOVES this recipe!
Wandercooks
06/09/2019 at 11:21 amThanks Alex! 🙂 That’s so awesome to hear!!
Kate
05/09/2019 at 11:24 amThese look so yummy! I love trying new recipes, can’t wait to try this one!
Wandercooks
06/09/2019 at 11:21 amThank you!
Sonal
05/09/2019 at 11:15 amThis is super amazing….complete gastronomical experience. I have never heard of these but I am glad that I discovered these delicious things here..bookmarking to make.
Wandercooks
06/09/2019 at 11:20 amGlad you found something new to try, that’s what we love!
Colleen
05/09/2019 at 11:03 amOh my Goodness, I want these! Salivating, and can’t wait to try.
Wandercooks
06/09/2019 at 11:20 amHaha, they are pretty tasty! Hope you enjoy. 🙂
Deb mclean
09/03/2019 at 9:47 amHi just found your great website ! We have just returned from Hoi an and the pancakes in the rice paper were our favorite. I want to give your recioe a go as we have had a few failures and yours looks great. The problem i have is thst the rice paper they use for these pancakes is different than they use for rice oaoer rolls
It is more pliable thinner and doesnt need to be soaked on water. Any ideas of where these can be purchased or what they are called. They tend to be a half moon shape not round or square. I live in australia. Thanks for any advice
Wandercooks
15/03/2019 at 3:59 pmHi Debbie, so nice of you to stop by! Hoi An is such a beautiful place with such delicious food, hope you guys had a wonderful time. For the rice paper – I think it’s called “banh trang phoi suong” we haven’t come across anything quite like it in stores here in Australia, so we tend to just use the regular rice paper sheets when making this at home! If you happen to find some, can you please let us know too? 😀
Patricia @ Grab a Plate
17/05/2016 at 11:48 pmWow – this looks absolutely amazing! Love that it’s filled with bits of goodness! Love your photos — my fave = the steam coming off the Banh Xeo and skillet! Yum!
Wandercooks
18/05/2016 at 11:33 amThanks Patricia, that’s definitely one of our favourites too. Just makes us want to reach through the screen and eat it up all over again. 😛
Molly Kumar
17/05/2016 at 4:19 amI love Vietnamese food and their pancakes are so delicious. Love your recipe and the flip pictures are super cute, at least yours landed on the pan, mine are all over the place 😉
Wandercooks
18/05/2016 at 11:31 amYou know I actually looked up videos of how to flip things – eggs, pancakes, omelettes. One day I’ll get there! In the meantime I’m still more than happy to eat the practice versions! Hahah 😛 Good luck with your own flipping adventures Molly!
Gloria @ Homemade & Yummy
16/05/2016 at 9:03 pmI have never heard of these before…but they do sound delicious!! I think I might just have to give them a try.
Wandercooks
18/05/2016 at 11:29 amThanks Gloria, give them a go, we’d love to hear what you think of these Vietnamese flavours. 🙂
Bintu @ Recipes From A Pantry
16/05/2016 at 7:14 pmI remember seriously downing 2 of these for breakfast every single day I was there.
Wandercooks
18/05/2016 at 11:28 amBreakfast, lunch and dinner over here! Haha 😛 I still haven’t managed to master the flipping technique so it’s a good thing Sarah’s such a pro 😛
Martin @ The Why Chef
12/02/2016 at 2:25 amGet in my belly!
Wandercooks
12/02/2016 at 11:41 pmHaha woke up to this today, and it cracked us up! So true though 😛
Stella @ Stellicious Life
15/01/2016 at 1:12 amThis looks delicious! (Even if it does sound a bit complicated to achieve 😉 ) Love that second photo, gorgeous!!
Yum, I could so eat a couple of these!
Wandercooks
16/01/2016 at 2:36 pmHaha – it may be tricky to flip but it sure is a lot of fun! Laura went back to using the spatula after that flippin’ fiasco. 😛