Happy Hue Pancake

Name: Happy Hue Pancake (Bánh Khoái)
Yield: Serves 4-6 as part of a Shared Meal
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 200 g (7 oz) raw school prawns (shrimp), legs and heads trimmed, or peel if preferred; 125 g (4½ oz/1 cup) cornflour (cornstarch); 1 bunch mint; 200 g (7 oz) boneless pork belly, fat trimmed, thinly sliced; 1 bunch Vietnamese mint; vegetable oil, for stir-frying; 1 green oak lettuce or butter lettuce; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 Lebanese (short) cucumber, thinly sliced (optional); 75 g (2½ oz/½ cup) plain (all-purpose) flour; 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped; ½ teaspoon sugar; ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda); 1 bunch Vietnamese fish mint; 100 g (3½ oz) dried mung beans; 1 star fruit, thinly sliced (optional); 250 g (9 oz/1 cup) sticky soya bean and pork sauce; 1 bunch perilla; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) bean sprouts; 1 onion, thinly sliced into rings; 2 spring onions (scallions), sliced; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) coconut milk

Bánh Khoái

Preparation info

Serves
4-6
as part of a Shared Meal

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Songs of Sapa

By Luke Nguyen

Published 2009

About

BANH KHOAI IN VIETNAMESE MEANS ‘HAPPY PANCAKE’, SO YOU NEED TO SMILE WHEN YOU PREPARE THIS DISH. THE PANCAKE NEEDS TO BE EXTRA CRISP AND CRUNCHY, SO DON’T TAKE IT OFF THE HEAT UNTIL THIS HAS BEEN ACHIEVED. A HAPPY VEGETARIAN VERSION CAN ALSO BE CREATED BY SUBSTITUTING FRIED TOFU AND AN ASSORTMENT OF ASIAN MUSHROOMS FOR THE PORK AND PRAWNS.

I’VE USED SCHOOL PRAWNS HERE: BECAUSE THEY ARE SMALL THEY ARE VERY TENDER. THE VIETNAMESE ONLY TRIM OFF THE LEGS AND HEADS - THE SHELLS AN

Ingredients

Asia
Vietnam
Hue
Main course
Side dish
Dinner
Southeast Asia

Ingredients

Method