I go to a Vietnamese nail salon run by an adorable young couple, and the husband takes care of my hands. He and I always talk food, because he’s knowledgeable about Asian cuisines, besides Vietnamese, and he cooks! The last time I was there I told him I’d made Chinese flaky scallion pancakes. He probably rolled his eyes because of course I do realize he’s Vietnamese, not Chinese, but it did pay off. He got out his phone and told me about bahn xeo, and showed me google images, similar to this one.

Bahn xeo are beautiful yellow, crispy pancakes, folded over like taco shells, with healthy fillings. Yum.

I found a perfect recipe on the blog Delicious. The author of the recipe is Matt Preston, who wrote “Yummy Easy Quick Around the World.”

It’s impossible for me to mimic a Vietnamese accent, so the closest I can get to how bahn xeo is pronounced, is bon-say-oh. Just say it really fast!

Bahn Xeo are my new joy in my life! I could eat them every day. They’re spicy, fresh, flavorful, and really pleasing to the eyes! Next time I’ll make them with shrimp.

Bahn Xeo
Printable recipe below

1 cup rice flour
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 – 13.5 ounce can coconut cream (actually coconut milk, unsweetened)
1 cup soda water
8 spring onions, white part very finely chopped, dark-green part thinly sliced
3 x 250g chicken breast fillets
3 tsp vegetable or coconut oil
2 handfuls bean shoots
2 Lebanese cucumbers, cut into thin 5cm-long batons
2 long red chillies, thinly sliced
150g pickled carrot and daikon (see below)
1/2 bunch each coriander, Vietnamese mint, Thai basil, mint and shiso (a mint variety I can’t find)

Nuoc Cham

1 red bird’s eye chilli, (more if you like it hot, or use a deseeded long red chilli if you don’t), chopped
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1/3 cup (80ml) fish sauce, plus extra if needed
1/3 cup (70g) caster sugar
1 tbs lime juice, plus extra if needed
1 tbs lemon juice

Pickled Carrot and Daikon

2 large (about 350g) carrots, cut into 5- to 6cm-long matchsticks
1 small (about 350g) daikon radish, cut into 5- to 6cm-long matchsticks (I used radishes)
3 tsp sea salt
80g caster sugar
1/2 cup (125ml) rice wine vinegar

I did a quick pickling of baby carrot slices and sliced radishes. No daikon to be found!

Combine rice flour, turmeric, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the coconut cream, then stir through the soda water and the white part of the spring onion until combined. Place the batter in the fridge for 30 minutes to thicken slightly.

Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). (I didn’t bother with this step.)

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the chicken and bring water back to the boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, then remove from the heat and set aside for 11 minutes or until poached through. Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover loosely with foil. Rest for at least 10 minutes, then shred the chicken. (I used rotisserie chicken.)

For the nuoc cham, place the chilli and garlic in a mortar and pound with a pestle to form a paste. Transfer to a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and 2 tbs water, and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Season with more fish sauce or lime juice until it hits that sweet spot – which varies from person to person. Set aside.

To make the pancakes, swirl 1/2 tsp of the oil around the base of a 26cm frypan and heat until the pan is super hot. Don’t be tempted to add more oil, otherwise the batter won’t adhere to the side of the pan and crisp up. Wipe out any excess oil. Working quickly, place 1 ladle of batter (about 2/3 cup [165ml]) in the pan and swirl pan so the batter goes a little way up the side (the edge of the pancake will be thinner than the middle) Cook for about 3 minutes, then use a spatula to work around the edge and slide the pancake gently onto a baking tray, taking care not to break it. Place in the oven to keep warm and repeat with remaining oil and batter.

The pancakes take much longer to cook than I expected, so be patient.

Arrange the chicken, dark green part of the spring onion, bean shoots, cucumber, chilli, pickled carrot and daikon, and herbs on a serving platter.

Serve with pancakes and nuoc cham.

The next time I saw my nail guy and showed him that I’d made bahn xeo, his wife tells me that I worked too hard! I guess there’s a bahn xeo pancake mix out there! She recommends adding an egg, and beer instead of water. Who knew?!