Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Shrimp Pancakes)

If there's no great Vietnamese restaurant in your neighborhood, you can still enjoy these delicious, savory pancakes. Sure to be a hit at home, they're an omelet filled with “surf and turf”-shrimp and pork loin. Whether you want to brighten up a chilly autumn evening or serve lighter fare in warmer months, they're sure to be a hit.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 50 mins
• Calories: 413 Calories

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons white sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• ½ cup bean sprouts
• ½ cup lime juice
• 2 cups vegetable oil for frying, or as needed
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 20 medium (blank)s uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 5 ounces boneless pork loin, sliced
• 1 pinch monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• ⅔ cup rice flour
• 7 ounces water
• 6 ounces coconut milk
• 3 medium (4-1/8" long)s green onions, finely chopped
• ½ teaspoon saffron
• ⅓ cup fish sauce
• 2 peppers dried red chile peppers, chopped
• 4 leaves mustard greens

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Marinate the shrimp and pork loin with the fish sauce and MSG in a glass or ceramic bowl for 30 minutes.

Step 2

Mix rice flour, water, coconut milk, green onions, and saffron powder.

Step 3

Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Drop 1/4 of the rice flour mixture and fry a large, thin pancake until bubbles form and the edges are dry, 3 to 4 minutes.. Put 1/4 of the shrimp and pork mixture on the pancake. Reduce heat to medium, add 1/4 of the bean sprouts and basil, flip, and cook until browned on the other side, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold pancake in half and transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter and filling.

Step 4

Mix lime juice, fish sauce, water, sugar, red chiles, garlic, and MSG for sauce together. To eat, roll the pancakes up together in a mustard green leaf and dip in the sauce.