Banh Khot

Banh Khot is a dainty variation of a Vietnamese pancake that has all the same tasty ingredients but is a fraction of the size.

These miniature pancakes are served with herbs and vegetables and spicy sweet fish sauce for dipping. The batter is made of a combination of mostly rice flour, and even leftover grains of rice, with a hint of turmeric to give them a beautiful yellow hue, and mixed together with coconut milk to make it extra creamy and rich.

Finally, the crunchy outside is made using coconut milk and the filling usually consists of shrimp, mung beans, and spring onions with a dusting of dried shrimp flakes on top.

How to Make Banh Khot

Ingredients:
1 package of banh khot flour mix, or 1.10 pounds (500 grams) of rice flour and 0.10 pounds (100 grams) of glutinous rice flour
1 can of coconut milk
1  1/2 cups of water
1/2 cup of hulled mung bean (they can be bought pre-hulled)
10 shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 clove of minced fresh chopped garlic
2 teaspoons of ground turmeric
3 spring onions, chopped (discard the white part)
springs of coriander, chopped, for garnish
fresh Vietnamese mint, chopped, for garnish
mustard leaves, for wrappping
romaine lettuce leaves, for wrapping
fresh perilla and basil herb, for wrapping
vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of salt

Preparation:

1. In a bowl mix the two flours (or take the bag of banh khot flour) and add the coconut milk  until it is a smooth paste.
2. Add smaller amounts of the water at a time until fully mixed, then the turmeric, and half of the chopped green onion and salt.
3. Wash and chop shrimp into smaller pieces and sauté quickly in a small amount of vegetable oil with with the chopped garlic and the rest of the spring onion and a dash of salt. Set aside.
4. Pour a small amount of vegetable oil into each indentation of the banh khot pan and heat until beginning to sizzle.
5. Add batter into each indentation until approximately 2/3 full, cover and cook for about 3- 5 minutes.
6. Remove the cover and add one or two pieces of shrimp and a tablespoon of mung bean to each of the indentations, then re-cover.
7. Cooking complete when the sides of the pancakes are crispy and batter has fully set. (Usually an additional 3-5 minutes, depending on heat of the stove.)
8. Top each of the pancakes with some chopped coriander and mint and, if you have decided to make it, the dried shrimp topping.
9. Serve with mustard leaves, romaine lettuce leaves and fresh perilla and basil for to create your own spring roll with each pancake, wrapping a banh khot in leaves and herbs, then dipping it into the fish sauce.

Powdered shrimp topping:
1/2 cup dried shrimp (soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes)
1/2 teaspoon annato oil
1/2 teaspoon fish sauce

Rinse and drain shrimp, then pat dry with paper towel and grind them in a food processor. Heat a nonstick pan and fry the ground shrimp mixture with the fish sauce and annatto oil until the liquid has evaporated fully and the mixture is dry, stirring constantly. This can be cooked ahead of time then set aside for later use.

Dipping sauce:
1/2 cup water
2-3 tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you’d like your sauce)
1/2 lime, juiced.
3 tablespoons of fish sauce
Optional: 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped) and 2 red chillies (chopped)

Mix water, sugar and lime until sugar dissolves. Slowly add desired amount of fish sauce (more is better!) . If you’d like a bigger punch to the sauce, add in garlic cloves and chillies, though these can be served on the table and added to each person’s dipping dish depending on their preference.