Caramelized Pork

Pho (Beef Noodle)

Bun Bu Hue

Bun Rieu (Crab Noodle Soup)

Banh Xeo (Vietnamese Pancake/Crepe)

Pancake/Crepe Ingredients:
1 cup rice flour

½ cup self-rising flour

½ cup water

1 cup coconut milk

½ tsp tumeric

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp salt

1 green onion, finely chopped

1 egg

1 cup of (already soaked) yellow mung bean

Filling Ingredients: (place each in separate bowls and set next to stove)

½ lb boneless pork loin (boiled and julienne strips)

½ lb raw tiger shrimp (cut in half lengthways)

1 cup of (already soaked) yellow mung bean

3 cups of bean sprouts

Accompaniments: (the following are to be placed on dinner table)

1 head of romaine lettuce (leaves separated)

1 bunch of cilantro

1 bunch of mint or basil leaves

1 cup of mixed fish sauce (dipping sauce)

Soak 1 cup of yellow mung bean in 2 cups of luke warm water for 1 hour. The mung  bean will soak up most of the water and swell to about 2 cups. One cup you will use in the batter and one cup you use for the filling.

Batter:

- Mix dry ingredients:  rice flour, self rising flour, turmeric, sugar, and salt. 

- Pour 1 cup of coconut milk in a blender. Add 1 cup of soaked yellow mung bean. Blend using the liquefy option on blender until the bean becomes a liquid. Pour mixture into a bowl and beat in 1 egg and ½ cup water. Gradually add liquid mixture to dry mixture beating continuously.  The batter will be a thin crepe consistency. Add chopped green onion to batter mixture. Let batter rest in fridge for about ½ hour.

Using a large frying pan, pour 2 tbsp of oil in frying pan and set heat to medium high.  When oil is hot pour about ½ cup of batter and spread batter to be a very thin circle (like a crepe). Immediately start adding filling ingredients (pork, mung bean, bean sprouts, and shrimp) to half of the side of the crepe circle (make sure you add shrimp last so that it can cook thoroughly. Turn heat down to about medium low and quickly place a cover over pan and let cook for about a minute. When shrimp has turned pink and is cooked thoroughly, fold crepe in half turn heat back to medium high and leave uncovered to make the crepe crispy. The crepe should be very crispy. If it is not crispy then try adding less batter so that crepe batter is thinner. 

Place crepe on plate and serve. Crepe is eaten by taking a left lettuce, cutting a wedge of crepe and placing in leaf. You may also add mint and cilantro if you desire. Roll up lettuce leaf, use fish sauce for dipping and enjoy!

Canh Chua

Steamed Pork Buns