Banh xeo, a sizzling Vietnamese rice flour pancake, served with accompanying lettuce, herbs, and vegetables at Mi La Cay in Wheaton. (Photo by Josh Novikoff)
Dish of the Week: Banh Xeo
Where: Ben Trey, Mi La Cay, Pho 14
After an ode to pho a couple weeks ago, let’s revisit another dish from Southeast Asia. Today we celebrate sizzling and savory Vietnamese pancakes.
When you think of pancakes and Asian cuisine, there is a good chance they have scallions in them and come from a favorite Chinese restaurant. Or maybe they are moo shu ones—little floppy circles wrapped around slivers of pork or Peking duck, fastened closed with a smear of hoisin sauce. Bánh xèo, a popular Vietnamese snack, have almost nothing in common with those dishes.
From first look, you would be forgiven for thinking bánh xèo are over-sized omelets stuffed with lots of fixings. But despite their golden yellow hue, egg is not on the ingredient list for these snacks. The color comes from dashes of turmeric powder—the more, the yellower. Wheat is not part of the equation for these pancakes either. The base is rice flour, though those with gluten sensitivities should check to ensure no wheat flour has been mixed in before ordering.
The cooking of the pancakes starts with a sauté of onions, shrimp, and pork in a pan. Over that, a thin layer of the rice flour batter is poured and as the bottom layer of the forming crepe begins to sizzle. That’s where the dish gets its name from. Xèo means sizzling. The word bánh , as known from the more widely known banh mi Vietnamese sandwiches, means cake or bread.
As that rice batter sizzles, bean sprout are added to the top, with the now crispy crepe folded over them and served.
The dish can be found on most Vietnamese restaurants and pho shops around town on the appetizer part of the menu, like popular Adams Morgan newcomer Ben Tre (2418 18th St. NW), the Pho 14s of the area, and further afield in suburban ethnic outposts like the wonderful Mi La Cay (2409 University Blvd.) in Wheaton. The large crepes are meant to be shared and eaten by hand. Grab off a piece off with an accompanying lettuce leafs, extra bits of herbs like cilantro, basil, and perilla stuffed in, and a dip into a little bowl nuoc cham sauce.
