Sizzling crepes with pork and prawns
Prep time: 20 mins Total time: 
Sizzling crepes with pork and prawns
Prep time: 20 mins Total time: 
Uyen Luu
Uyen is a London-based food blogger and supper-club host who also runs cookery lessons teaching Vietnamese cuisine. She is author of My Vietnamese Kitchen.
Uyen Luu
Uyen is a London-based food blogger and supper-club host who also runs cookery lessons teaching Vietnamese cuisine. She is author of My Vietnamese Kitchen.
Ingredients
For the dipping sauce:
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 bird eye chilli, finely chopped
- ½ tbsp cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
For the crepes:
- 150g rice flour
- 1½ tsp ground turmeric
- 300ml coconut milk
- 1 spring onion, thinly sliced
- a pinch of sea salt
- a pinch of sugar
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 200g boneless pork loin steaks, fat trimmed and thinly sliced
- 300g raw king prawns
- 150g beansprouts
To serve:
- 75g young-leaf salad
- 3 spring onions, cut into short lengths
- a handful of coriander
- a handful of basil, torn
- a handful of mint leaves, torn
Step by step
Make the dipping sauce up to a few hours ahead and keep in the fridge. Make all 8 pancakes up to a few hours ahead, layering between baking paper as you go, and reheat (folded) in a preheated oven at 120°C, fan 100°C, gas ½.
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For the crepes, whisk together the flour, turmeric, coconut milk, 300ml water, spring onions, salt and sugar in a bowl, making sure it’s smooth and free of lumps. Set aside to stand for 20 minutes, then whisk briefly before cooking.
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Meanwhile, for the dipping sauce, mix together the garlic, chilli and vinegar in a bowl. Set aside for 2 minutes. This ‘cooks’ the garlic. Now add the fish sauce, sugar and 100ml water.
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Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a small, nonstick, lidded, heavy-based frying pan (about 16cm base diameter) over a high heat until hot. Fry 1 heaped teaspoon of the chopped shallots for 10-20 seconds until browned. Using a shallow ladle, pour in a thin layer of the crepe batter (about 80ml), reduce the heat to medium-low and cover with a lid. Cook for 3 minutes, uncover and cook for a further 2-3 minutes until the crepe is crispy and golden. Set aside on a tray and keep warm. Repeat this whole process with the remaining shallots and batter to make 8 crepes in total.
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Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan or wok, season the pork and prawns with salt and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes until cooked through, adding the beansprouts for the final minute. Transfer to a plate.
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To eat, add the pork and prawn mix and some salad, onions and herbs to the crepes, roll up and eat with the sauce.
This is a Vietnamese street food favourite – a light savoury crepe made with rice flour and coconut milk, served with plenty of salad leaves and herbs. This recipe makes about 8 crepes so you can serve 2 each as a starter
