Prep 35 mins · Cook 45 mins · Total 2 hrs 5 mins (incl. 45 min batter rest) · Servings 6 to 8 (makes 6 to 8 crepes) · Difficulty Advanced
For 6 to 8 crepes
Choose one batter option
Option 1, from-scratch batter
2 1/2 cups rice flour
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt or fine sea salt (or 1/2 tsp Morton)
1/2 tsp MSG, optional
1 can full-fat coconut milk, 13.5 fl oz, Aroy-D, Mae Ploy, or Chaokoh
3 1/2 to 4 cups water
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp glutinous rice flour (bột nếp), optional, for slight chew
Option 2, packet batter
1 packet bánh xèo flour, 12 oz, Vĩnh Thuận brand
2/3 cup rice flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder, only if the packet is light in color
1/2 tsp MSG, optional
1 can full-fat coconut milk, 13.5 fl oz, Aroy-D, Mae Ploy, or Chaokoh
3 to 3 1/2 cups water
4 green onions, thinly sliced
Filling
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb pork belly, thinly sliced (1/8 inch)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 1/2 lb bean sprouts, washed and dried thoroughly
1/2 cup dry split peeled mung beans (đậu xanh cà vỏ, the yellow ones), soaked and steamed until tender, dry, and fluffy
Pork seasoning
1 tsp fish sauce, Red Boat or Megachef premium
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp finely minced lemongrass, optional, southern flourish
Shrimp seasoning
1 tsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp white pepper
Vegetables and herbs
1 head mustard greens (cải xanh)
1 bunch mint
1 bunch cilantro
1 bunch Vietnamese perilla (tía tô)
A little young lettuce, optional, for extra wrapping
Nước chấm
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 tbsp sugar, plus up to 1 tsp more if needed
1/2 cup good unsweetened coconut water (Harmless Harvest, Taste Nirvana, or C2O)
2 tbsp fresh lime juice, plus a small squeeze more if needed
1 1/2 tsp rice vinegar
1 small clove garlic, finely minced
1 small Thai chili, thinly sliced, optional
Optional Bình Định flourish
2 tbsp coconut cream (top of an unshaken can of coconut milk), drizzled into the cooking crepe before folding
Make the batter
For either batter option, whisk the dry ingredients together first
Add the coconut milk and the lower end of the water range, then whisk in the green onions until the batter is smooth and evenly mixed
Let the batter rest 45 minutes
After resting, whisk well and check the consistency, the batter should be the consistency of heavy cream, thin enough to run quickly across the pan and form lacy edges, not pancake-thick
If it looks too thick, add more water 1 to 2 tbsp at a time until it loosens
Whisk before every bánh xèo because the flour will settle
Prepare the mung beans
Soak the split peeled mung beans 1 hour in cold water
Steam until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes
Keep them dry and fluffy, not wet, water in the bean ruins the crisp shell
Season the pork and shrimp
Toss the pork belly with 1 tsp fish sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/4 tsp white pepper, and the optional lemongrass
Toss the shrimp with 1 tsp fish sauce and 1/4 tsp white pepper
Let both sit while you prepare the rest
Make the nước chấm
Stir together the fish sauce, sugar, coconut water, lime juice, and rice vinegar until the sugar dissolves
Add the garlic and chili if using
Let it sit while you cook
Prepare the vegetables and herbs
Wash and dry the mustard greens, mint, cilantro, and perilla thoroughly
Keep the bean sprouts ready
Slice the onion thinly
Pre-cook the filling
Heat a skillet over medium heat with a little oil
Cook the pork belly until lightly cooked through and some fat has rendered, do not crisp it hard
Transfer out and reserve the rendered fat for cooking the bánh xèo
In the same pan, lightly cook the shrimp until barely starting to turn opaque
Transfer out
Test the pan temperature
Use an 8 to 10-inch nonstick or well-seasoned carbon steel pan over medium-high heat
Heat thoroughly, the pan should pass the water-droplet test (a drop of water dances and evaporates in 1 to 2 seconds), or a tiny drop of batter should sizzle aggressively but not burn instantly
Carbon steel runs hotter and gives the crispest shell, nonstick is forgiving
Cook the bánh xèo
Add enough neutral oil to coat the pan lightly but fully, plus a little reserved pork fat if using
Add a small amount of onion and a portion of pork belly, let them sizzle briefly to flavor the pan
Whisk the batter again, pour in 1/3 to 1/2 cup depending on pan size
Immediately swirl fast so the batter spreads thinly across the pan, the swirl window is about 2 seconds before the batter sets
Add 2 to 3 shrimp, 2 to 3 tbsp pork belly, a small handful of onion, a generous handful of bean sprouts, and about 1 tbsp mung beans on one half of the crepe
For the optional Bình Định flourish, drizzle 1 tsp coconut cream over the filling now
Cover for 20 to 30 seconds, enough to soften the sprouts and finish the filling
Uncover and continue cooking until the bottom is deeply golden and crisp and the edges are lacy
Drizzle a little more oil around the edges if needed for the lacy crisp
Fold and slide
Slide a spatula under the empty (filling-free) half
Fold it over the filled half to form a half-moon crescent
Cook 30 seconds longer to set the seam and crisp the shell
Slide out onto a wire rack, not a plate, plates make the bottom soggy from trapped steam
Wipe the pan with an oil-coated paper towel between crepes to prevent sticking
Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, whisking the batter before each pour
To serve
Break off pieces of bánh xèo and wrap them in mustard greens with mint, cilantro, and Vietnamese perilla
Dip into nước chấm
Serve immediately, the shell loses crispness fast
Notes
Best batter choice
The from-scratch batter has the higher ceiling and better control. The packet version (Vĩnh Thuận) is easier and still strong if the batter stays thin, the pan stays hot, the sprouts stay dry, and the filling stays restrained. Either works for a great bánh xèo, the from-scratch version pulls ahead in the hands of a careful cook.
Mung beans must be split peeled
Use đậu xanh cà vỏ (split peeled, the yellow ones), not whole green mung beans. Whole green need overnight soak and the skin gives the wrong texture. Split peeled steam in 15 to 20 minutes and stay fluffy and dry, which is what the crepe needs.
Regional variants
Bình Định (central) is smaller, more mung-bean-forward, often served with mustard greens and a coconut cream drizzle. Saigon is larger, more shrimp-heavy, served with lettuce and the full herb plate. Hanoi (rare) is smaller still and uses water-only batter, no coconut. This recipe defaults to southern-central. For pure Bình Định, lean on the mung beans and add the coconut cream drizzle. For Saigon, swap mustard greens for green leaf lettuce and bump the shrimp count.
The swirl window is 2 seconds
This is the most common failure mode. Pour and swirl in one continuous motion, the batter sets fast on a hot pan and you cannot get the lacy thin edge if you wait. If you miss the window, the crepe reads thick and pancake-y, not crisp and lacy.
Wipe the pan between crepes
Residue builds across crepes and the next ones stick or scorch. A quick paper-towel wipe with a touch of oil between each pour resets the surface. Skipped wipes are why the third crepe falls apart.
Why the rack, not a plate
Cooked crepes on a plate trap steam underneath and the bottom turns soggy in a minute. A wire rack lets the bottom breathe and the shell stays crisp until plating.
Pan choice
Carbon steel runs hotter than nonstick once seasoned and produces the crispest, lacy-edge shell. Nonstick is forgiving and reliable, especially for first-timers. Either works, the carbon steel ceiling is higher.
Make-ahead
Mung beans can be steamed up to 3 days ahead, refrigerated. Nước chấm holds 5 days refrigerated. Herb plate prepped and dried up to 1 day ahead. Batter rests 45 minutes minimum, but holds up to 24 hours refrigerated (whisk well before using). Pre-cooked pork and shrimp hold 1 day refrigerated. The crepes themselves cook to order, never store cooked, the shell goes soft fast.
Serve immediately
Bánh xèo is a station dish, the shell starts losing crispness within 5 minutes of leaving the pan. Cook one, plate one, eat. Mise en place the herb plate, nước chấm, and warm serving plates before the first crepe goes into the pan, and have the table ready to receive each crepe as it slides off the rack.
Goal
A half-moon crescent with deeply golden lacy edges, a crisp shell, a generous filling of pork, shrimp, onion, sprouts, and mung beans, and a clean fold. Each bite wrapped in mustard greens with herbs, dipped in nước chấm, should crackle when bit and yield to a juicy filling.
