The latest trend, I guess, is eating less meat. We have been kind of on that kind of diet for a while now. We eat more beans and more cheese and sometimes it's just vegetables. I am tempted more often that not lately to go vegetarian but folks quite frankly I can not do it. I love meat too much. But I will be eating less of it as I have been for quite some time...
Anyway, if you follow my blog, you know I went to Toronto a little while back and had some amazing food there. Of course, I can not remember a time when I did not have amazing food there. I wanted to give this recipe a whirl to see if I could recreate the dish. When I had it there I was sure there was eggs in it so when I made the recipe I added eggs- nope. It didn't turn out quite right. So, next time I will be leaving out the eggs. It still was good and even better toasted the next day.
Banh Xeo aka Vietnamese Amazing Pancake
In a medium bowl, whisk the rice flour together with 2 cups of water. Add tumeric and scallion and mix well. Set batter aside. (Can be kept in frig. for up to three days.)
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2 tsp of oil over high heat. Add 3 slices of pork, shrimp, few slices of onion, and 1 slice of mushroom. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Cook until onion starts to brown slightly, about 1 min. Stir the rice flour batter and ladle 1/3 cup of it into the pan. Tilt the pan to distribute the batter evenly. Keep the heat high, cover, and cook until the sides of the pancake turns deep brown and curled up, about 3-4 minutes. Scatter 1/4 cup of sprouts onto the pancake. Fold it in half and slide it onto a warm plate. Serve the pancakes with dipping sauce on the side. You can eat it wrapped in lettuce and herbs or plain. Suggested herbs are mint and basil. I also used marinated daikon and radish with it as well.
Nuoc Cham
If using dried chile flakes soaked them in the vinegar in a medium bowl for about 2 minutes.
In the bowl with the chile, add fish sauce, lime juice, carrot, garlic, and sugar. Stir in 1 1/2 cup of warm water until sugar is dissolved. Serve at room temp or store in frig. for up to 3 days.
I think I know what you mean by the 'fish politics'. Although overfishing is an issue like anything that human beings overdo out of greed (which is just about everything) - I'm not going to reduce the amount of fish I eat because I rarely eat fish anyway (once a month!). One day saccharine causes cancer and then the next day it doesn't. One day margarine is good for you and next day you find out about trans fatty acids and the harmful things they could do to you. I say - let's just risk the dangers of sugar and butter rather than these mutants produced via chemistry...and I'm just going to eat everything in moderation. :p
ReplyDeletePancakes look delicious by the way!
I love the sound of these type pancakes. Interesting post!
ReplyDeleteIts so confusing these days to try to shop & eat. We are trying to eat more locally but even that is hard & full of issues.
ReplyDeleteI personally don't eat a lot of meat; I cook it for my Ole Sweetie-Pi because he's the one who loves it. I try to buy only fresh ingredients; we never eat fish (only because neither one of likes it). I eat real butter. Pour on real maple syrup. I use real eggs. But then that's just me.
ReplyDeleteYour pancakes look delicious.
ReplyDeleteI always order this as an appetizer in Vietnamese restaurants. I don't think I've ever cooked anything Viet before though. Not good.
ReplyDelete