Cooking at Every Stage: Crispy Vietnamese Crepes (Bánh Xèo)

Imagine a crispy, savory Vietnamese crepe. If you’re craving this combination of shrimp, mung beans, and fresh herbs, there’s no need to travel to Vietnam. You can make Bánh Xèo at home alongside top chefs.

Solaray has teamed up with Homemade—the largest livestream cooking community in the world—for “Cooking at Every Stage.” The free, six-part culinary series teaches you how to make delicious and nutritious meals built around supportive ingredients in our her life STAGES formulas. What’s more, talented female chefs share their experiences navigating their stage of life, from PMS through postmenopause.

You can register now for classes on 11/25 and 12/2. Don’t worry if you can’t attend live. Each class is recorded so you can cook alongside these incredible chefs anytime.

Below, find a video of the full class, plus a recipe for Crispy Vietnamese Crepes (Bánh Xèo) featuring ginger root, a potent herb that has many culinary uses and health benefits. You’ll find ginger in STAGES PMS & Menstrual, Solaray’s formula that provides powerful support for a healthy cycle.*

As part of the class, Chef Lisa Bi shares her menstruation journey, including her first experiences as a young adult and how she navigates PMS now as a woman. We appreciate her enthusiasm to talk openly about this normal life phase, and hope it inspires you to care for yourself each and every month. 

“Sometimes, as a woman, you just want to better your life. And why not have something delicious?” 

– Chef Lisa Bi

 

Get cooking and own your stage.

Crispy Vietnamese Crepes (Bánh Xèo)

Servings: 4

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Crepes:

• 2 cups white rice flour
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 1⁄2 cup sparkling water, plus an extra 1⁄2 cup
• 1⁄4 cup green onions, thinly sliced

For the Filling:

• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups mung bean sprouts
• 3⁄4 cup dried mung beans
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 lb shrimp peeled deveined (41-50 count)
• 3 garlic cloves minced
• 1 small shallot minced
• 1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tsp chicken powder
• 1 tsp black pepper, cracked
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• any neutral oil 

For the Nước Mấm (Dipping Sauce):

• 1⁄3 cup hot water
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 1⁄3 cup coconut water
• 1⁄4 cup fish sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 Thai chili pepper, thinly sliced

For Serving:

• 1 head of romaine lettuce or red leaf lettuce
• 1 bundle of mint
• 1 bundle of Thai basil
• 1 thinly sliced cucumber

Instructions:

1. Prepare the Mung Beans: Wash the mung beans until the water is clear, then soak the mung beans with enough water to cover for at least 20 minutes. Drain, then place the mung beans into a small pot and fill it with enough water to cover the beans. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, add teaspoon of salt, stir then simmer for 20 minutes uncovered while stirring occasionally. Remove any foam from the top of the mung beans with a spoon to discard. After 20 minutes the beans should be soft, but still maintain their shape. Drain and set aside.
2. Marinate the Shrimp: Defrost shrimp, then marinate with garlic, shallot, ginger, salt, fish sauce, and black pepper and let sit for 30 minutes.
3. Mix and Bloom Batter: Whisk batter ingredients together and let bloom for 45 minutes.
4. Prepare Dipping Sauce: Boil water, add sugar, and mix until dissolved. Add lime juice, coconut water, fish sauce, garlic, and chili peppers and mix until well combined.
5. Prepare Veggies: Slice white onion and green onions thinly and place in a bowl to set aside. Cut the end of a heart of romaine, wash and salad spin. Wash herbs and bean sprouts whole and set aside to pluck later.
6. Cook Shrimp: Grab a wok or a non-stick skillet with a lid. Heat skillet or wok on high heat and coat with about 1 tablespoon of either olive oil or any neutral oil. Add the sliced onion to the pan and cook for about a minute, until the onion is lightly transparent. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook, stirring every so often, until fully cooked, 1-2 minutes. Remove the shrimp and onion from the pan and place in a bowl next to the stove.
7. Cook Filling: Place cooked white onion and shrimp, mung beans, and bean sprouts in bowls next to your pan for easy access. Grab a wok or a non-stick skillet with a lid. Heat skillet or wok on high heat and coat with about 1 tablespoon of oil. Ladle in about 3⁄4 cup of batter, then pick up the pan to swirl the batter around to cover the bottom and sides of the skillet. You want this nice and thin but with enough coverage to be opaque. If the batter is too thick to swirl around the pan, add extra sparkling water, a tablespoon at a time, to thin it out. Reduce to medium high heat and let it fry for another minute then add a handful of mung beans and bean sprouts, and a scoop of the shrimp and onions. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook for 3-5 minutes on medium-high.
8. Crisp Crepe: Remove the lid. Use a spatula to lift the edges of the crepe from the sides of the skillet. Add a teaspoon of oil to the under the edges of the crepe. Cook uncovered for 2 more minutes or until the bottoms are crispy.
9. Time to Serve: Use a spatula to fold the crepe in half, slide the spatula underneath to lift onto a plate. Grab a piece of lettuce and add herbs to your lettuce. Tear a piece of crepe and place on top, fold together like a lettuce wrap and dip in your Nước Mấm dipping sauce.