Crispy Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes with Pork, Shrimp & Herbs

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A lacy, turmeric-gold rice flour crepe that shatters when you bite it, folded over pork belly, shrimp and bean sprouts. The batter ratio here is the whole trick: rice flour cut with a little cornstarch, thinned with coconut milk and cold water until it pours like heavy cream, then rested so the starch hydrates. A 10-inch nonstick skillet stands in for the traditional wok — you tilt, swirl, and let the edges fry in oil until they curl. Serve with a mountain of lettuce and herbs and a bowl of nuoc cham for wrapping and dunking at the table.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups rice flour (white, not glutinous)
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 3/4 cup canned full-fat coconut milk, well shaken
• 1 3/4 cups cold water
• 3 scallions, thinly sliced

• 8 oz skinless pork belly or fatty pork shoulder, sliced into thin 1/8-inch strips
• 8 oz medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, halved lengthwise
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 3 cups mung bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup neutral oil, for frying

• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1 Thai chile, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp finely julienned carrot

• 1 head butter or red leaf lettuce, leaves separated
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves
• 1/2 cup perilla or shiso leaves (optional)
• 1 Persian cucumber, cut into thin spears

Instructions

1. Make the batter first so it can rest: whisk the rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the coconut milk and whisk to a smooth thick paste, then whisk in the cold water. The batter should be very thin — the consistency of heavy cream, not pancake batter. It should coat a spoon in a translucent film and run right off. Cover and rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes (up to 4 hours in the fridge). Stir in the sliced scallions just before cooking.
2. Make the nuoc cham: stir the sugar into the warm water until fully dissolved, then add the fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, chile and carrot. Taste — it should be brightly sour, salty and just sweet. Add water 1 tbsp at a time if it tastes too sharp. Set aside at room temperature.
3. Toss the pork strips with 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1/2 tsp sugar and the black pepper. Let sit 15 minutes. Arrange the lettuce, mint, cilantro, Thai basil, perilla and cucumber on a platter and refrigerate until serving.
4. Cook the pork: heat 1 tbsp oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add the pork in a single layer and cook undisturbed 2 minutes, then stir and cook 3 to 4 minutes more until the edges are browned and some fat has rendered. Transfer to a plate. Add the shrimp to the same pan and cook 1 to 2 minutes just until pink and barely opaque; transfer to the plate with the pork. Divide the pork, shrimp, onion and bean sprouts into 4 equal portions so each crepe is ready to go.
5. Wipe the skillet, return it to medium-high heat, and add 2 tbsp oil — more than feels right. This is what fries the edges crisp. Heat until the oil shimmers and a drop of batter sizzles immediately, about 2 minutes. Scatter in one portion of sliced onion and cook 30 seconds.
6. Stir the batter well (it settles fast), then ladle about 3/4 cup into the center of the pan. Immediately lift the pan off the heat and swirl and tilt it so the batter runs into a thin sheet all the way to the edges — work quickly, in about 5 seconds. Return to the heat.
7. Scatter one portion of pork and shrimp over one half of the crepe, then pile a portion of bean sprouts on top of them. Cover the pan, reduce heat to medium, and steam 3 minutes to cook the sprouts and set the batter.
8. Uncover, raise the heat back to medium-high, and drizzle 1 to 2 tsp oil around the rim of the pan so it runs under the edges. Cook uncovered 3 to 5 minutes more, rotating the pan occasionally, until the underside is deep gold, the edges lift and curl away from the pan, and you hear a dry crackling instead of a wet sizzle. Slide a thin spatula underneath to check — it should be lacy and rigid, not floppy.
9. Fold the bare half of the crepe over the filling like an omelet, slide it onto a rack (not a plate — plates trap steam and soften the crust), and serve immediately or hold in a 200°F oven on the rack while you cook the rest. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, adding 2 tbsp fresh oil and reheating the pan for each crepe.
10. To eat: tear off a piece of crepe, wrap it in a lettuce leaf with mint, cilantro, Thai basil and a cucumber spear, and dunk in nuoc cham. Eat with your hands.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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