Apr 13, 2009

Sizzling Rice Crêpes

When making these crunchy, savory crêpes, be sure to use rice flour milled from long-grain rice, as opposed to glutinous (sticky) rice flour. In Vietnam, these crêpes are usually served with Nuoc Châm, a dipping sauce made with fish sauce and lime juice, and a garnish of fresh herbs.

Credit: Ariana Lindquist

FOR THE BATTER:
2 cups rice flour
1 1⁄2 tbsp. tapioca starch or cornstarch
1 1⁄2 tsp. kosher salt
1⁄3 cup coconut milk
1 scallion, thinly sliced

FOR THE FILLING:
1⁄4 cup dried yellow split mung beans,
soaked in water for 2 hours
1 cup plus 1 tbsp. canola oil
10 oz. peeled rock shrimp (about 40 shrimp)
or peeled and chopped medium shrimp
8 oz. ground pork
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
Kosher salt, to taste
4 cups bean sprouts

FOR THE GARNISH:
1 large head butter lettuce
10 sprigs each cilantro, mint, perilla,
Thai basil, and fish mint

1. Make the batter: In a large bowl, whisk together the rice flour, tapioca starch, and salt. Make a well in the center, pour in the coconut milk and 2 cups water, and whisk until the batter is smooth. Whisk in the scallions; set batter aside to let rest for 1 hour.

2. Make the filling: Drain the mung beans. Bring 1" water to a boil in a pot fitted with a steamer attachment. Add mung beans to the steamer, cover, and steam until just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer mung beans to a plate and set aside to let cool.

3. Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" nonstick skillet over high heat. Add shrimp, pork, and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until pork is golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and set shrimp mixture aside.

4. Working in batches, heat 2 tbsp. oil in a 12" nonstick skillet over high heat. Using a liquid measuring cup, pour 1⁄2 cup batter into the skillet, swirling to cover the bottom. Cook until partially set, about 45 seconds. Sprinkle 2 tbsp. mung beans over crêpe; then add one-sixth of the shrimp mixture and 2⁄3 cup of the bean sprouts. Lower the heat to medium, cover, and cook until the bean sprouts have wilted slightly, about 3 minutes. Uncover and drizzle 1 1⁄2 tsp. oil around the rim of the skillet. Cook, uncovered, until the edge of crêpe crisps and pulls away from the rim of the skillet and turns golden brown, about 3 more minutes. Fold crêpe in half with a spatula and slide onto a platter. Wipe out skillet and repeat to make 6 crêpes in all.

5. To serve, pass the platter of crêpes with the garnishes and dipping sauce. Tear off a piece of the crêpe, wrap it with lettuce and any combination of the herbs, and dip in nuoc châm, if you like.

MAKES 6 LARGE CRÊPES

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #120

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Ratings & Reviews (4)

by KATIDI2 on 2009-05-04

LOVED MAKING THIS DISH, LOADED WITH FRESH HERBS AND DELICIOUS, SATISFYING. ONE TRIP TO MY VIETNAM MARKET AND I HAD EVERYTHING.

by jrdhassell on 2009-06-29

Very tasty, great variety of flavors. A few things: I combined the crepe fillings (shrimp, pork, onion) so that I didn't have to have so many little bowls while cooking. I also added the filling toward the end of the cooking time so that the shrimp wouldn't overcook.

Don't forget to make the nuoc châm. It's necessary to make the flavors come together!

by skim51180 on 2009-09-24

delicious, wanted to make these after watching the bourdain episode in vietnam. my boyfriend said it was the best thing I've made in months.
tip for everyone the rice crepes take awhile to cook, it's easy to rip the crepe by being impatient

by DEANLO on 2012-03-13

Pretty darn good but definitely missing a few things. My family likes them crispy so we use more oil during the cooking and then we pour off the excess toward the end. We also put tumeric powder in the batter And wrap them in either fresh mustard greens or romaine instead of butter lettuce. The sharpness of the mustard greens coupled with the punchy, heady nuoc mam sauce really makes the dish. Without the fresh greens or sauce, the mung beans and grease make this dish almost sickeningly heavy. With the greens, I could put down 3 or 4 of these.

Sizzling Rice Crêpes 4 5 3 4