Bánh Xèo Recipe (Vietnamese Crepes)
Easy Bánh Xèo Recipe (Vietnamese Crepes) – Learn how to make and serve authentic Banh Xeo, just like they do it in Vietnam! This authentic dish features crispy rice flour crepes filled with meat and bean sprouts, plus a sweet-savory Nuoc Cham dipping sauce.
Why We Love This Bánh Xèo Recipe (Vietnamese Crepes)
So what exactly is Bánh Xèo? (And how do you pronounce it??) We first fell in love with these delicious dip-able bites on a trip to Vietnam several years ago… And we are so excited to share the love with you here!
Bánh Xèo is a type of gluten-free Vietnamese Crepe that is golden in color, very crispy on the outside, and filled with pork, shrimp, and bean sprouts. Bánh Xèo is pronounced Bon Zee-Ow. Bánh refers to anything made with flour, while Xèo refers to the sound the crepe batter makes when it hits the hot skillet.
The proteins are usually cooked directly in the crepe batter. Yet, any produce is added on top and folded into the center, like an omelet. In fact, Bánh Xèo looks like an omelet… But contains no eggs. The yellow color comes from turmeric!
Once the crepes are made, they are cut into wedges, wrapped in rice paper with fresh greens, and rolled into little bundles. Then you dip each bundle in Nuoc Cham, a savory-sweet dipping sauce… Yes, of course we have a recipe for that, too!
Bánh Xèo Recipe Ingredients
Do not let the ingredient list scare you away from making this Banh Xeo recipe. It’s actually very simple to make. These ingredients can be found at most large grocery stores with a decent international section.
For the Crepe Batter –
- Rice flour (or a mixture of 3 parts rice flour to 1 part all-purpose flour, if you aren’t worried about the recipe being gluten-free)
- Salt
- Ground turmeric
- Water
- Mung bean sprouts
- Chopped scallions
- Tiny shrimp
- Pork chop
- Coconut oil
For the Wrappers –
- Rice paper wraps
- Spring mix greens
- Fresh mint leaves
- Cilantro leaves
For the Nuoc Cham –
- Water
- Granulated sugar
- Fish sauce
- Fresh lime juice
- Chile garlic sauce
- Garlic
How to Make Authentic Vietnamese Crepes (Bánh Xèo)
Mix. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the rice flour, salt, turmeric, and water together until very smooth. It should be the consistency of half & half. (Thin, but not watery.) Add more water if needed.
Prep. Chop the shrimp, pork chop, and scallions.
Sizzle. Set a small skillet over medium-high heat and add coconut oil to the skillet. Place some shrimp and pork in the skillet. Allow them to cook for about 30 seconds.
Pour. Use a ladle to pour thin batter over the surface of the skillet.
Quickly swirl the pan to coat the bottom of the skillet. Cook the bottom of the crepe for 1-2 minutes.
Fold. Then place a few mung bean sprouts and chopped scallions on one-half of the crepe, and fold it over. Continue to cook another few minutes per side, to make the crepe very golden and crispy. Repeat.
Carefully move the Banh Xeo to a cutting board and cool slightly. Slice each folded stuffed crepe into 4 even triangles.
Make the Nuoc Cham. Combine the water and sugar in a microwave-safe bowl, and microwave for a minute or two to dissolve the sugar. Then stir in the remaining ingredients. You can use immediately, or make the sauce ahead of time and have in waiting in the fridge to use.
Get the Complete (Printable!) Bahn Xeo Recipe Below. Enjoy!
How To Serve Bánh Xèo – Like They Do In Vietnam!
Bánh Xèo is meant to be a group activity as well as a meal! Friends and family sit around the table to roll and dunk their Bánh Xèo in rice paper rolls, as they laugh and catch up on life.
These Vietnamese Crepes are usually served as-is in Americanized Vietnamese restaurants. However, in Vietnam, they are most often wrapped in rice paper with mixed greens and herbs. Then dipped in Nuoc Cham.
You simply…
- Dunk a rice paper wrapper in water to soften it.
- Set a hot crispy piece of Banh Xeo on the rice paper.
- Top it with greens.
- Roll it up and dip away!
Frequently Asked Questions
You can store the fresh batter in the fridge for 2 to 4 days so that you can have crepes for a few days. Cooked Vietnamese crepes should be served and eaten fresh, they do not store well and will not taste good the next day. That is why storing the uncooked batter is your best option.
The best next thing would be to use a Gluten-Free Baking Flour Mix that is primarily made of rice flour.
Yes, some people use these crepes almost like bread to make a Vietnamese crepe sandwiches.
The Vietnamese crepes should be crisp, but foldable. I have found some rice flours are more pliable than others, based on what type of rice is used. If you find you are struggling to make crepes that fold, try adding a little all-purpose flour (or gluten-free baking mix) in place of part of the flour. Start with ¾ cup rice flour + ¼ cup all-purpose four.
Looking for More Amazing Vietnamese Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Cold Vietnamese Chicken Salad (Gio Ga) Recipe
- Bun Cha Gio Noodle Bowls Recipe
- Fresh Spring Rolls Recipe
- Vietnamese Banh Mi Sandwiches Recipe
- Banh Mi Salad Recipe
- Low Carb Beef Pho Recipe
- Chicken Pho with Zoodles Recipe
Get the Complete (Printable!) Bahn Xeo Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Bánh Xèo Recipe (Vietnamese Crepes)
Ingredients
For the Bánh Xèo Crepes
- 1 cup rice flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 1/2+ cups water
- 3/4 cup mung bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup chopped scallions
- 1/2 cup tiny shrimp, sliced in half
- 1/2 cup pork chop, cut into thin strips
- 6+ tablespoons coconut oil
For the Wraps
- 30 rice paper wraps
- 5 ounce spring mix greens
- 1 cup mint leaves
- 1 cup cilantro leaves
For the Nuoc Cham Sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup fish sauce
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chile garlic sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- For the Nuoc Cham: Pour the water and sugar into a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, to dissolve the sugar. Then stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, chile-garlic sauce, and minced garlic. Set aside.
- For the Wrap Set Up: Place the spring mix, mint leaves, and cilantro in a large bowl. Set out the rice paper wraps, along with a wide shallow dish of water to dip them in.
- For the Crepe Batter: In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the rice flour, salt, turmeric, and water together until very smooth. It should be the consistency of half & half. (Thin, but not watery.) To get the consistency just right, add more water, a little at a time. Then stir and check.
- Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F, to act as a warming drawer. Set out a baking sheet with a rack on top.
- Prep the Crepe Fillings: Slice the shrimp in half, through the middle to create two identical halves. Then slice the pork chop into short thin strips. Chop the scallions.
- Cooking Instructions: Set a small-medium skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, add 1 tablespoon coconut oil to the skillet. Swirl around the pan. Place 3-5 pieces of shrimp and 3-5 slivers of pork in the skillet. Allow them to cook for about 30 seconds.
- Use a ladle to pour thin batter over the surface of the skillet. Quickly swirl the pan to coat the bottom of the skillet. The crepe should be thicker than french crepes, but not too thick. Cook the bottom of the crepe for 1-2 minutes. Then place a few mung bean sprout and chopped scallions on one-half of the crepe, and fold it over. Continue to cook another 1-2 minutes per side, to make the crepe very golden and crispy.
- Move the crispy crepe to the baking sheet and place in the warm oven. Repeat with the remaining batter to create 6-7 crepes. Once all the crepes are cooked, cut each crepe into 4 wedges.
- To Serve: Each person should take a rice paper wrapper and dip it in water. While it's still firm, place a Bánh Xèo wedge in the center and top it with mixed greens, mint, and cilantro. Fold the wrapper over. Fold both ends up to seal in the fillings. Then roll the wrapper into a small burrito-style roll. (By now the rice paper should be soft and rubbery.) Dip in nuoc cham and eat!
Hi Sommer. I am curious, how were you able to travel during the pandemic? Was it difficult? Did you have to quarantine once you arrived in SE Asia.?
This is one of my favorite dishes. I grew up near Little Saigon in the Westminster/Garden Grove area in CA. We sponsored several Vietnamese families that came over in the 70s. The ladies would always cook for us. There are so many wonderful dishes. I learned so much.
Thank you for your recipes and for a lovely website.
Best Regards-
MRS
Hi Mary,
Sorry for the confusion! This post was originally published in early 2020, however, our trip with several months before in 2019. We did not travel to Asia during the Pandemic. It was such a wonderful experience, I hope to go back someday. :)
This is not my common recipe group that I go for, but this is something that is so special and definitely great tasting!
I LOVE this dish. I’m Vietnamese and grew up eating this on rainy days. Not sure why but that’s when my mom would make it. Try frying sliced white onion with pork and shrimp. It adds a sweetness that’s fantastic. Eat it however you like – with rice paper or lettuce or even straight up with sauce on top (my favorite). My mom opted out of adding turmeric so ours were white growing up. Great post!
Don’t use rice paper wrap to eat banh Xeo. Just wrapped lettuce around it, or mashed it up like a salad, but no rice paper. It’s repetitious. That’s not normal.
Hi Yenlinh,
Thanks for your input. However, this is how we ate them all over central Vietnam, therefore it in an authentic serving method. We really enjoyed Banh Xeo this way! :)
The central Vietnam style is smaller, broken into pieces, and wrapped in a rice paper. The larger style of bánh xèo originated from southern Vietnam and is usually just wrapped with leafy lettuce
hellow, I’m Vietnamese and im just wanna say, rice paper can be used to wrap with banh xeo, it’s very normal to do that
These are THE BEST! Love how simple they were to make and put together!
We’re obsessed with the wraps!! One of our favorite dinners! Thanks for sharing!