Bánh xèo

• 300 g Prawns (raw, peeled and deveined)
  Swaps (1)
• 1 u Onion (small, thinly sliced)
• 2 cloves Garlic (very finely chopped)
• Salt (to taste)
• 3 tablespoons Sugar
• 6 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 u Red Chilli (thinly sliced, to taste)
• 1 bunch Coriander (fresh)
• 200 ml Coconut Milk
  Swaps (1)
• 4 tablespoons Fish Sauce
  Swaps (1)
• 1 bunch Mint
• 250 g Pork belly slices (fresh, cut into thin strips)
• 1 teaspoon Turmeric (ground)
• 4 tablespoons Lime juice (from about 2 limes)
  Swaps (1)
• 4 u Spring Onions (thinly sliced, half goes into the batter)
• 200 g Bean Sprouts
• 1 bunch Basil (Thai basil if you can find it)
• 1 u Lettuce (soft-leaved, leaves separated)
• 200 g Rice Flour (regular, not glutinous)
• 420 ml Water (300 ml for the batter and 120 ml for the sauce)

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the batter: mix the rice flour, turmeric and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Add the coconut milk and 300 ml of water and whisk until smooth; it should be very runny, like single cream. Stir in half the spring onion and leave the batter to rest for 30 minutes so the flour hydrates.

   30 min

2. 2

   Make the nuoc cham: dissolve the sugar in the 120 ml of warm water, then add the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic and chilli and taste. It should balance sweet, sour and salty; adjust with more lime or sugar if needed.

   5 min

3. 3

   Wash and dry the lettuce and herbs and arrange them on a platter. If the prawns are large, halve them lengthways. Season the pork belly with a pinch of salt.

   10 min

4. 4

   Heat a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and stir-fry the pork over a medium-high heat until cooked through and starting to brown. Add the prawns, stir-fry for a minute, just until they change colour, and transfer everything to a plate.

   7 min

5. 5

   Heat a 24 to 26 cm non-stick frying pan over a high heat with a teaspoon of oil. Add a few strips of pork, a few prawns and some onion slices. Stir the batter, which settles at the bottom, and pour in a ladleful (about 100 ml), swirling the pan to coat the whole base in a thin layer. It should sizzle loudly.

   1 min

6. 6

   Scatter a handful of bean sprouts over one half, cover and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover, lower the heat to medium, add a few drops of oil around the edge and keep cooking until the base is golden and crisp and the edges lift away on their own. Fold in half and slide onto a plate.

   5 min

7. 7

   Repeat with the rest of the batter and filling, stirring the batter each time. Serve the pancakes as soon as they are ready, on the lettuce leaves, with the remaining spring onion on top.

   25 min

8. 8

   To eat, tear off a piece of pancake, wrap it in a lettuce leaf with a few leaves of mint, basil and coriander and dip it in the nuoc cham.