Recipe courtesy of
Susan Vu
for
Food Network Kitchen
Recipe courtesy of
Susan Vu
for
Food Network Kitchen
Watch how to make this recipe.
Bánh Khọt
Getting reviews...
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 40 min (includes marinating time)
- Active: 1 hr 10 min
- Yield: 2 to 4 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 4 servings
- Calories
- 744
- Total Fat
- 56 g
- Saturated Fat
- 11 g
- Carbohydrates
- 46 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 21 g
- Protein
- 17 g
- Cholesterol
- 161 mg
- Sodium
- 2164 mg
If you are familiar with and love bánh xèo, a savory crispy Vietnamese crepe laced with coconut milk and tinged golden yellow from the addition of ground turmeric, then you are sure to enjoy the bite-size version known as bánh khọt. The smaller and perfect-for-sharing rice cakes are made from a batter that is surprisingly easy to whip together with a few ingredients. The secret to super crispy bánh khọt is using cold bubbly seltzer water (you can also substitute an ice cold lager beer for a little malty flavor); it helps keep the batter light and causes it to rise when it hits the hot pan. Truthfully, the hardest part of this recipe is probably getting your hands on a proper bánh khọt pan (a cast-iron or nonstick pan with small domed wells), which you can sometimes find at a Vietnamese grocery store (or order online). Alternatively, you can also use a Danish aebleskiver or Japanese takoyaki pan, which have a very similar design but with varying well sizes. Just make sure that whichever pan you use, the dimension of the wells is no smaller than 1 3/4 inches and pick out a domed lid that fits snugly on top.
- Level: Intermediate
- Total: 1 hr 40 min (includes marinating time)
- Active: 1 hr 10 min
- Yield: 2 to 4 servings
-
- Nutritional Analysis
- Per Serving
- Serving Size
- 1 of 4 servings
- Calories
- 744
- Total Fat
- 56 g
- Saturated Fat
- 11 g
- Carbohydrates
- 46 g
- Dietary Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 21 g
- Protein
- 17 g
- Cholesterol
- 161 mg
- Sodium
- 2164 mg
Ingredients
Nước Mấm:
Mỡ Hành (Scallion Oil):
Bánh Khọt:
Serving:
NEW: You can now switch to Cook Mode to keep your screen awake.
Directions
Special equipment:
1 nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron bánh khọt, aebleskiver or takoyaki pan with wells that are at least 1 3/4 inches wide- For the nước mấm: Whisk the lime juice, sugar and 1/3 cup water in a medium bowl until the sugar is completely dissolved. Whisk in the fish sauce, garlic and chiles to combine. Taste and adjust the sauce with additional sugar, water and/or fish sauce, then stir in the carrots. You will have about 1 1/2 cups of dipping sauce. Cover and refrigerate while you prepare the mỡ hành and bánh khọt.
- For the mỡ hành (scallion oil): Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat until hot and starting to shimmer, about 3 minutes. Stir in the scallions and a large pinch of salt, then immediately pour the scallion mixture into a small bowl, scraping out any extra oil from the skillet. Set the scallion oil aside to cool completely at room temperature and reserve the skillet (no need to wash it out). You will have about 3/4 cup of mỡ hành.
- For the bánh khọt: Stir together the shrimp, fish sauce, sugar and garlic in a medium bowl. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Whisk together the rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Add the coconut milk and seltzer water and whisk again until smooth; the batter will be thin and fluid. Refrigerate along with the shrimp. The batter will bloom during this time, thickening slightly and turning a deeper shade of yellow. You will have about 1 1/3 cups of batter.
- Transfer the shrimp to a large plate lined with paper towels, then use more paper towels to pat them dry completely. Heat the reserved skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the oil and add the shrimp in a single layer. Cook, turning the shrimp over after 1 minute, until opaque and just cooked through, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Remove to a medium plate; set aside at room temperature.
- Heat a nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron bánh khọt, aebleskiver or takoyaki pan over medium-low heat for several minutes until hot. Use a silicone brush to generously brush each well with oil (small pools of oil at the bottom of the wells are okay and will help the batter fry up nice and crispy). Give the batter a good stir, then fill each well with enough batter so that they are two-thirds of the way full for a bánh khọt or aebleskiver pan or halfway full for a takoyaki pan. Depending on the pan you use, the exact amount of batter will vary; generally it will be 2 to 4 teaspoons.
- Add 1 to 2 shrimp to each well (generally 2 shrimp for a bánh khọt or aebleskiver pan and 1 shrimp for a takoyaki pan), lightly pressing the shrimp down into the soft batter (this will push the edges of the batter up slightly in the wells, which is exactly what we want to happen). Increase the heat to between medium and medium high, cover with a lid and cook for 2 minutes.
- Remove the lid and brush additional oil around the edges of the wells. Be generous here and do not hold back on the oil; you will know you have added enough when you can see oil bubbling vigorously around the edges of the bánh khọt. Continue to cook, uncovered, until the edges are lacy and the undersides are deep golden brown and very crispy, 4 to 6 minutes more. You can use a wooden skewer to move the bánh khọt as needed to check the undersides and see how they are cooking.
- Use a small spoon to transfer the bánh khọt to a wire rack set over a baking sheet or a large plate lined with paper towels. Reduce the heat to medium-low and repeat with the remaining batter, shrimp and oil. There will be 16 to 20 total using a bánh khọt or aebleskiver pan or 30 to 34 total using a takoyaki pan.
- For serving: Transfer the bánh khọt to a serving platter and drizzle generously with the mỡ hành. Serve with lettuce leaves, sliced cucumbers, fresh herbs and the nước mấm alongside. Wrap the bánh khọt in lettuce with fillings and dip it in nước mấm.
Cook’s Note
Steamed split yellow mung beans are a popular addition to bánh khọt. If desired, sprinkle 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of steamed mung beans on top of the soft batter in each well before you add the shrimp. Store leftover mỡ hành and nước mấm in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
