Hue Crispy Turmeric Pancake (Bánh Khoai)
Bánh khoai Say it: bahn khwai
Bánh khoai is Huế's smaller, richer answer to the southern bánh xèo: a rice-flour batter turned gold with turmeric and bound with egg, so each pancake puffs up crisp at the rim while staying tender inside. A hot pan is loaded with sliced pork belly, sweet shrimp and bean sprouts, then the pancake is folded over and eaten wrapped in lettuce and herbs, dunked in a thick, nutty soybean sauce. Vendors in Huế fry them to order, and they are eaten from morning through dinner.
Hue Crispy Turmeric Pancake (Bánh Khoai)
Bánh khoai
Pronounced bahn khwai
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Level
- Medium
Allergens: contains fish, shellfish, peanuts, egg, soy, gluten, sesame. Check labels on packaged ingredients.
Ingredients
Amounts are scaled. Cooking times and pan sizes stay the same.
Batter
Filling
Dipping sauce
To serve
Method
Make the batter. whisk the rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric and salt in a mixing bowl, then pour in the water in a steady stream, whisking until smooth and thin enough to coat a spoon lightly. Let it rest at room temperature for 20 minutes.
Stir the eggs into the rested batter until completely even, and skim off any foam on the surface.
Toss the pork belly with the fish sauce, black pepper and half the minced garlic; leave it to marinate for 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
For the dipping sauce, whisk the soybean sauce, fish sauce, sugar and warm water until the sugar dissolves, then stir in the garlic, chili, crushed peanuts and sesame seeds. It should be thick enough to cling to a lettuce leaf; loosen with a little more water if needed.
Heat an 8-inch (20 cm) skillet over medium-high heat with 1 1/2 tbsp of the oil. Add a few pork slices, 3 or 4 shrimp, a pinch of scallions and the remaining garlic, and sear for 30 to 45 seconds, until the shrimp turn pink and curl and the pork edges begin to brown.
Stir the batter (the starch sinks), ladle about 1/3 cup (80 ml) into the pan and swirl immediately to coat the base. Scatter a small handful of bean sprouts over one half and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, until the edges are lacy and golden and the underside releases from the pan.
Drizzle 1 tsp of oil around the rim, fold the pancake in half over the sprouts and press gently. Fry for 30 to 45 seconds more on each side, until deep golden and audibly crisp, then slide onto a warm plate.
Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, adding a little oil to the pan each time. Cut the pancakes into pieces and eat them wrapped in lettuce with herbs, dipped in the sauce.
Regional variants
In southern Vietnam the same idea becomes bánh xèo: a much larger, thinner pancake, often with coconut milk in the batter, mung beans in the filling, and rice paper and a mountain of herbs alongside. Home cooks also swap in tapioca starch or a splash of cold beer for an even cracklier edge.
Cook's notes
- The pan must be properly hot and the oil shimmering before the batter goes in; a cool pan gives a pale, leathery pancake instead of a lacy crisp one.
- Stir the batter every time before ladling, and fry one pancake at a time, keeping the finished ones in a single layer in a 200°F (95°C) oven rather than stacking them.
- Some brands of fermented soybean sauce and hoisin contain wheat; check the label if you need the dish to be gluten-free.
Serve with
Soft lettuce and fresh herbs for wrapping, the peanut-soybean dipping sauce, and iced tea or a light lager.
Make ahead and storage
The batter can be mixed up to 4 hours ahead, chilled and stirred well before frying; the sauce keeps for 3 days refrigerated. Fried pancakes are best eaten straight away but hold for 15 minutes in a 200°F (95°C) oven.
