Here's a Vietnamese crepe recipe:
BANH XEO
Serves 6
This is delicious lettuce wrapped crepe.
I suggest you serve them as main course because there are a number of components.
Ingredients for making the crepes:
12 oz bag of rice flour
1 t turmeric
14 oz coconut cream
3 C room temperature water
Ingredients/method for the dipping sauce:
1/2 cup of Red Boat fish sauce
2 T white table vinegar
1 1/2 C water
1/2 C white sugar
1/3 C shredded carrot
1 t crushed garlic
Combine and whisk to dissolve the sugar
Set aside as a condiment
Vegetable/meat Ingredients:
Large whole lettuce leaves washed and patted dry. Any type of lettuce will do.
Mint leaves washed and patted dry.
Cucumber strips the same length as the lettuce leaves.
Remove the seeds using a spoon.
3 T chopped garlics.
2 fine chopped spring onions
Some fresh washed patted dry cilantro leaves.
1/2 lb. approx. of pork tenderloin. To prepare the pork put it in the freezer until it’s close to being frozen.
Using a razor sharp knife (I use a box cutter) slice medallions as thin as you can.
15-20 large raw shrimp deveined and shelled and sliced lengthways in half.
1 C thin sliced sweet onion
1 C of washed and patted dry bean sprouts.
Make the crepe batter:
Combine the rice flour, turmeric, water, coconut cream and chopped spring onions. Whisk to remove any lumps. Set aside.
To cook the crepes:
Add a T of vegetable oil to a medium hot flat bottomed non-stick 12” fry pan.
Add enough sweet onions to sparsely cover the bottom of the pan. When they have cooked for a couple of minutes add a sprinkle of the chopped garlic. Add about five pork medallions and about five large shrimp. You want to have the ingredients nicely distributed over the pan. Don’t overcook the shrimp and pork.
Sprinkle on a pinch of S&P.
Now ladle enough batter to just cover the shrimps.
Keep the heat at medium-low. Cover with a lid for a couple of minutes to cook the crepe.
Sprinkle some fresh bean sprouts on half the crepe.
Now carefully turn the half of the crepe without the bean sprouts over onto the other half. You have a half moon shaped crepe.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
To eat:
Take a large lettuce leaf. Lay on it a slice of the crepe, half the width of the lettuce leaf and about the same length as the lettuce leaf.
On top of the crepe lay on a couple of thin strips of the cucumber.
Then a few cilantro and mint leaves.
Fold the lettuce leaf up to hold the ingredients within and dip it into the dipping sauce.
This is messy eating at it’s best. Provide your guests with warm damp hand towels.
I always make a separate dipping sauce per couple/person so ‘double-dipping’ isn’t a bother.
