Bánh Xèo: Vietnamese Crispy Pancake Recipe | Tin and Thyme (2024)

Whip up a batch of these popular sweet, sour, salty and spicy savoury vegan pancakes. They contain no eggs or gluten and there’s no need for flipping. Once you’ve made this recipe for crispy bánh xèo, a type of Vietnamese pancake, there’ll be no going back.

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my cookie and privacy statement for further details.

How about changing up your pancake day fare this year and trying Vietnamese style pancakes instead? If you like Asian flavours and a crispy pancake, you’ll love bánh xèo.

Dive Right In

• What Is Bánh Xèo?
• My Vietnamese Pancakes
• Bánh Xèo Ingredients
• How to Make Bánh Xèo
• How To Serve Bánh Xèo
• Why Is My Bánh Xèo Not Crispy?
• Other Savoury Pancakes You Might Like
• Keep In Touch
• The Recipe

What Is Bánh Xèo?

Bánh xèo, roughly pronounced ban say-oh, is a Vietnamese pancake made with rice flour. It’s wonderfully crispy on the outside and sort of chewy on the inside. Traditionally, they are made with pork and prawns and are served with mustard greens, fresh herbs and a Vietnamese dipping sauce, nước chấm.

The name roughly translates as “sizzling bread”. The sizzling part of it comes from the noise made when the wet batter hits the hot frying pan.

Despite the vibrant yellow hue, bánh xèo contain no eggs. They contain no dairy or wheat flour either, which makes them excellent vegan and gluten-free friendly pancakes.

The idea is that you cut the pancakes into pieces, wrap them, along with the fresh herbs in a mustard leaf, then dip the whole lot into the sauce.

Just like bánh mi, bánh xèo is a popular street food snack, particularly in Central and Southwest Vietnam. And I can quite see why.

I have to confess, I’ve never been to Vietnam, but luckily Vietnam can come to me in the form of these super delicious savoury pancakes.

Bánh Xèo: Vietnamese Pancakes

Bánh xèo are quite unusual as pancakes go. They’re made with rice flour, coconut milk and turmeric as well as lots of spring onions. And you don’t need to flip them either. You fry the outside until crispy and briefly steam the inside. This gives the pancake two quite different textures which makes them exceptionally good to eat.

Instead of the traditional pork and prawns, I’ve substituted tofu and mushrooms to make these Vietnamese pancakes vegan. It works really well.

They’re really quite healthy too, especially if you use brown rice flour as I do. They’re light and low calorie, yet also quite sustaining. Enjoy one as a light lunch or two to three as a main meal.

The idea is not to pack lots of flavour into the pancake itself, although it is quite tasty anyway. Leave the wham bam flavour factor to the dipping sauce. This means you don’t need to add any flavouring to either the tofu or the mushrooms. They just get cooked in the pancake.

As with most pancakes, it’s best to eat bánh xèo as soon as they’re cooked. So, either share a pancake whilst the second one is cooking, or just serve them one by one. If you prefer, you can cook them first and then keep them warm in a low oven, but they won’t be quite as crispy.

Bánh Xèo Ingredients

As you can see from the image below, you don’t need many ingredients to make these pancakes. I forgot to show the turmeric, but other than that and the accompaniments, this is it.

Rice Flour

Rice flour is integral to this recipe. I use brown rice flour as it’s a whole food and much healthier than white. It works exceedingly well and doesn’t detract from the bright yellow hue of the pancake one jot.

Arrowroot

Although the traditional recipe is for one hundred percent rice flour, the addition of a little arrowroot helps to make the pancakes nice and crispy. Many use cornflour, but as regular readers will know, I prefer arrowroot.

Arrowroot has similar properties to cornflour when it comes to cooking, but far more health benefits.

Turmeric

Turmeric powder is the star of the show here. Without it, these pancakes would look very dull indeed. The bright yellow hue is so cheerful. It also adds flavour and is one of the best anti-inflammatory herbs out there.

Coconut Milk

You want tinned coconut milk for this recipe. Coconut milk that’s used as a replacement for ordinary milk is too thin. Besides coconut milk adds flavour as well as various nutritional benefits.

Spring Onions (Scallions)

Spring onions are integral to these Vietnamese pancakes. Unless you hate onions, don’t leave them out. As well as being loaded with nutritional excellence, they’re a good source of vitamin C.

Tofu

A block of tofu provides the main protein in these savoury pancakes. Make sure you buy an extra firm block, or press it first. It’s good to get the tofu nice and crispy – if only in places.

If you prefer tempeh, use that instead.

Mushrooms

You can use whatever mushrooms you like for this recipe. I went with chestnut mushrooms. They not only provide additional interest and flavour, but they’re a good source of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Bean Sprouts

Long, crisp yet tender mung bean sprouts are the ones to go for in this recipe. They give a nice crunchy texture and are highly nutritious. They’re also quite easy to get hold of.

That said, I had some home grown broccoli sprouts, so I thought I’d use those instead.

Lettuce

Mustard greens are quite hard to get hold of in the UK, unless you grow them yourself. I thus use lettuce leaves instead of mustard greens. In any case, lettuce leaves are a bit more palatable to our Western tastes.

Fresh Herbs

Don’t miss out on the fresh herbs, they really add another layer of complexity to the flavours and textures of this fabulous Vietnamese pancake.

Coriander (cilantro), mint, Thai basil and shiso all make a lovely accompaniment to bánh xèo. Personally, fresh mint is my favourite, but you can go with a selection if you’re not sure.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce: Nước Chấm

If you make this zingy and flavoursome Vietnamese dipping sauce (nước chấm), it’s best to do it whilst the pancake batter is resting. The ingredients then get a chance to meld a little. It’s very easy to make and well worth doing.

Limes are the citrus of choice for this sauce, but I only had blood oranges in the house so I used those. The result was spectacular, both in flavour and colour.

Fish sauce, water, garlic and chilli are the other main ingredients. If you don’t like too much heat or you’re preparing this with children in mind either use a mild chilli pepper or just leave it out.

I don’t like my sauces too sweet, but a little bit of sugar is essential here to balance out the sourness of the lime and the saltiness of the fish sauce. However, I don’t use anything like the normal amount.

It’s not traditional, but I also add a soupçon of soy sauce. It just adds an extra oomph, which I find makes quite a difference. I suspect vegan fish sauce isn’t quite as flavoursome as the real thing.

How To Make Bánh Xèo

Bánh xèo are very easy to prepare. The secret to their crispy exterior and spongy interior, however, is all in the cooking.

Step 1. Prepare Batter

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk the flour, arrowroot (or cornflower if using), turmeric and salt together. Make a well in the centre and add the coconut milk and water. Whisk from the inside out until everything is thoroughly combined.

Cover with a plate or tea towel and leave to rest for thirty minutes or more. If making the day before, leave in the fridge overnight. Don’t add the spring onions though until just before you’re ready to make the pancakes.

Top Tip

If your tin of coconut milk has separated out, scrape it all into a bowl or jug and blitz with a stick blender. You can then easily measure the amount you need. The remainder will store in the fridge for a few days. I find it’s always useful for curries.

Step 2. Make Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (if liked)

Finely slice the garlic and chilli, if using. Place them in a small serving bowl. Add the water, vegan fish sauce, tamari (or your favoured soy sauce), lime juice and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Set aside until needed.

Step 3. Prepare Spring Onions (Scallions)

Slice the spring onions finely and stir them into the bowl of batter just before you’re ready to fry the pancakes, but not before.

Step 4. Fry Tofu

Slice the tofu into forty eight rectangular slices. I just cut the tofu block into four thick slices, then cut each slice into twelve.

Place a medium to large nonstick frying pan or wok over a medium high heat. I use a 25 cm (10 inch) cast iron skillet*. If you use a smaller pan, you may get more pancakes.

Add two teaspoons of cooking oil and as soon as that’s hot, add the tofu pieces. Fry for about three minutes, turning them occasionally until at least one side is nice and crisp.

Transfer the tofu to a plate and place the pan back on the heat.

Step 5. Slice Mushrooms

Meanwhile, wipe the mushrooms clean or use a mushroom brush. Chop them into medium-sized slices. Set aside until needed.

Step 6. Make Pancakes

When the pan is good and hot, brush with the cooking oil. Take a sixth of the mushrooms and tofu respectively and place in the pan. Make sure the least done side of the tofu is facing down. Fry for one minute.

Pour in a small ladleful of batter and tilt the pan to cover the bottom. If you don’t have enough batter, add a little more, but make sure it’s only a thin layer or the pancakes are less likely to crisp up and you won’t have enough batter to make five more pancakes. Fry for one minute or until bubbles appear in the batter.

Place a sixth of the bean sprouts on one side of the pancake. Cover the pan with a lid or plate and allow the pancake and veg to steam for three minutes. Then remove the lid and continue to fry for a further couple of minutes. The pancakes should be golden and crispy on the underside and somewhat spongy on top.

Flip the empty half of the pancake over the sprouts and serve immediately whilst hot.

Repeat until you’ve used up all of the batter, mushrooms, tofu and bean sprouts.

How To Serve Bánh Xèo

Serve your bánh xèo hot from the pan along with lettuce leaves, fresh herbs and Vietnamese dipping sauce. I’ve included my version of nước chấm in the recipe card below.

In true Vietnamese style, tear chunks off the pancake and roll in lettuce leaves along with some torn fresh herbs and eat with your hands. Don’t forget to dip your roll into the sauce.

Alternatively, just serve the lettuce and herbs alongside the pancake, sprinkle the lot liberally with some of the sauce and eat with a knife and fork.

Why Is My Bánh Xèo Not Crispy?

If your bánh xèo is not nice and crispy on the outside, here are a few tips you can try to remedy the situation.

Rest Batter – Rest the batter for at least half an hour, so that the rice has time to absorb some of the water and thicken up.

Right Pan – Make sure you’re using a good nonstick frying pan or wok. It doesn’t really matter what type of pan as long as you’re confident your pancakes won’t stick.

My cast iron skillet* is well seasoned now and is pretty good for nonstick cooking. But because it has deep sides, it’s difficult to get the pancakes out without them breaking. If you have a shallow nonstick crèpe type pan, that’s ideal, as is a wok. I don’t have either of these, so pancake life is sometimes a bit tricky.

Hot Pan – You want a hot pan with an even heat distribution. This means you need to make sure it’s good and hot before you add the pancake batter. You don’t want it screaming hot or the pancake will burn, but a medium hot setting is ideal.

Long Cooking – These Vietnamese rice flour pancakes take a bit longer to cook than other types of pancakes. That’s mostly because we want it nice and crispy on one side. They need to cook for no less than seven minutes. Check the bottom before removing from the pan and if it isn’t crispy, fry it for a bit longer.

Arrowroot – Add a little arrowroot or cornflour to the batter. This really helps to give your bánh xèo a crispy exterior.

Sparkling Water. Swap the water for sparkling water or even beer. Some people swear by carbonated fluids which aerate the batter and can thus make it more crispy. In fact, in the North of Vietnam they usually use beer instead of coconut milk to make bánh xèo.

Other Savoury Pancake Recipes You Might Like

• Courgette chickpea pancakes
• Crempogau – Welsh pancakes
• English wholemeal pancakes
• Kefir kale pancakes
• Pancake wraps with spiced lentils
• Pea protein pancakes with spicy peanut sauce

Keep in Touch

Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these Vietnamese pancakes, please let me know how it went in the comments. I’d also appreciate it if you could rate the recipe. Do you have any recommendations or advice for making pancakes? If you post pictures of your creations on social media, please use the hashtag #tinandthyme so I can see them.

For more delicious and nutritious recipes follow me on Twitter,Facebook, InstagramorPinterest. And don’t forget toSUBSCRIBEto my weekly newsletter. Or why not join the conversation in our Healthy Vegetarian Whole Food Recipes Facebook Group?

If you’d like moreAsian style recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.

Choclette x

Bánh Xèo: Vietnamese Pancake. PIN IT.