Bánh Xèo

Our submission for this year’s pancake competition had a Vietnamese flavour. When we were in Ho Chi Minh city we fell in love with their Bánh Xèo. These enormous crispy, Simpsons coloured pancakes are stuffed with prawns, pork, bean sprouts and mint and are then wrapped in lettuce and rice paper, before being dipped in nuoc cham. Our favourite was this monster in Ho Chi Minh City which was the size of a satellite dish and as crispy as a Pringle.

We learned that Bánh Xèo is an onomatopoeic word that connotes the sizzling or crackling sound you hear when you make one. The batter is a mixture of rice flour, coconut milk and turmeric which fries in a way that leaves a pock marked surface similar to baddy’s face in Licence to Kill.

We found it took longer to cook the pancake than a traditional English version. But the patience was rewarded with a crispy shell to take on the filling.

We opted for a chicken and prawn filling instead of pork and prawn. You could just as easily use oriental mushrooms if you fancied a change. It’s important to marinade the ingredients in fish sauce, lemongrass, garlic, chilli and ginger first to infuse the flavour. Then fry away with some spring onions and keep warm whilst you make the pancake.

Ingredients:

For pancakes

200g rice flour

Half a can of coconut milk

200ml water

2 teaspoons of turmeric powder

Pinch of salt

Coconut oil for frying

Pancake filling

4 chicken thighs

2 cloves of garlic – finely sliced

1 lemongrass stem – finely sliced

1 chilli – finely sliced

Large thumb of ginger – grated

Big slug of fish sauce

150 g prawns

Handful of mint

Bean sprouts

Palm sugar

Lime

Coconut oil for frying

Nuoc cham dipping sauce

100ml fish sauce

50ml lime juice

3 finely sliced red chillies

1 teaspoon of palm sugar

1 clove of finely chopped garlic

Method:

Marinade the filling ingredients in fish sauce, ginger, lemongrass, garlic and chilli for half an hour. Then fry till cooked. Add the marinade towards the end to cook off. And some palm sugar. This should form a nice sticky sauce. Keep warm.

Whisk the rice flour, coconut milk, salt and turmeric together with the water to form a batter. Allow to rest for a bit.

Then add some coconut oil and groundnut oil to a frying pan and when hot add a spoonful of batter. The batter should fizz and crackle. It should also look pockmarked.

Once set and crispy on the other side, give it a careful flip. Because these are lacking in gluten they aren’t as stretchy so be a bit more cautious at this stage.

Serve the pancake, bent in half with the filling spooned in, like a taco. Then plate up with a wedge of lime, some bean sprouts, mint, and extra chillies.  And a little bowl of nuoc cham to dip into.

If you wanted to be extra authentic you could wrap the pancake in rice pancakes – but, they are just as nice on their own I think. And a lot less fiddly.

Some nice people from Roberson Wines gave us a bottle of Cono Sur Single Estate Chilean Reisling which paired perfectly with the Bánh Xèo. Fresh enough to slice through the complex flavours and rich enough to cope with the hint of spice. Not bad for £9 a bottle.

Huong-Viet in Hackney

We had one of our most fun nights out of the year at Huong-Viet. All of our foodie friends from the North of London have raved about this Vietnamese canteen. As have Charles Campion, Time Out and Nigel Slater. It has a sense of authenticity and quirkiness that appeals in spades. Much of this is derived from the fact that the site for this restaurant used to be public laundry and baths and then became a community centre for Vietnamese refugees. It then evolved into a canteen serving authentic, inexpensive Vietnamese food to whoever was either close enough or brave enough to visit.

So when the excuse arose we pounced. With the aid of a compass, some thermals and an appropriately named Hackney Carriage we waded in on a mission to try the entire menu. With the aid of Edwin's impressive grasp of the Vietnamese language and Jack's sheer appetite we were soon swamped by so many dishes that we had to annex a second table!

Summer rolls were fresh, crunchy, soft, cool and fragrant all at the same time. I reckon I could eat these all day. For me they are on a par with the Paddyfield in Balham, if not better.



A Vietnamese omelette was unnecessary, given the amount of food we'd ordered, but delicious nonetheless. Stuffed with crunchy and gungy stuff it was a text book example of contrasting textures. Doused in firey chilli sauce and it really came alive.



The highlight to the first act of our meal was a plate of chargrilled squid which achieved the ultimate goal of being succulent and rammed with flavour at the same time.



Other starters such as fish cakes and beef wrapped in leaves were so good they disappeared before I could photograph them! Much to my irritation and everyone else's mirth. The beef transported me back to a lunch time cafe in Hong Kong which I became addicted to several summers ago.

It was as if the main courses didn't want to be outdone by the starters. My hot and spicy lamb was one of the favourite things I have eaten this year. It lived up to its name by delivering the sort of sticky, tangy heat that makes you lick your lips for days afterwards. I had to fight Jack and Anna off with my chopsticks.



Cowie's whole steamed sea bass was good enough to prevent me from being offered any. Always a good sign. It's just a shame they couldn't find a larger plate. But I guess that is part of the charm. incidentally, this appears to be one of Nigel Slater's favourite dishes.



Edwin's impressive ordering skills resulted in a scene that wouldn't have been out of place in an ad for HSBC! A waiter appeared holding a scorching hot plate at arm's length and deposited it, still spitting in front of Edwin. It was a wonderful piece of theatre. And cooking too. Given the amount of burning hot oil that splattered onto the table it was essentially a healthy option.



Other dishes included a fragrant chicken curry with a plenty of lemon grass and a saucy pork curry. All washed down with plenty of Vietnamese beer and a lot of banter. If you can judge a meal by how dirty the table cloth gets, then we had a whale of a time. By the end we were trying to interpret the oily splodges around Edwin's plate in a way that would have had psychologists raising a lot of eyebrows!

We loved the informal atmosphere, direct service, delicious food and cheap bill. Some writers have suggested that there has been a lull in quality in recent times. But that wasn't on show when we visited. We loved it and are already planning a return trip. We just wish that we either lived closer, or that they would consider opening in Brixton or Balham.

12-14 Englefield Road
London
020 7249 0877
N1 4LS

The Paddyfield, Balham

It was a random Thursday evening and we were feeling peckish. Browny's inspirational words of '.... how about the Paddyfield for supper...' brought music to my ears. I have wanted to try this local haunt for ages.

This is probably the only BYO in the area and it is a real bonus. We popped into the Oddbins on the corner and picked up a bottle; with a £1 corkage fee it certainly helps finances!

The restaurant itself would not be bigger than your average decent sized kitchen. The walls are painted dark red and decorated with charming black and white prints taken in Nam.

As we walked in we were immediately greeted by the delightful owner; the youngest sibling of the family business. As it was only 7.30 pm, initially there were only 3 other couples in restaurant; however, by 8.30pm the place was verging on saturation.

The menu is simply but not restricted, offering classic signature dishes for starter and main. The owner/waiter made some excellent recommendations and then to top things off, he brought to the table two complimentary prawn springs roll. Now these really weren't your average spring rolls... they were truly sublime. Plump, juicy prawns with greens wrapped in the lightest of cases, accompanied with a homemade dipping sauce. I could have eater 12 of them they were so good!

For starter we shared a seafood Vietnamese salad and fish cakes.. both fresh and beautifully delivered. For main Browny opted for a red chicken curry with eggy rice, while I had one of my favourites; a Pho soup with sliced beef. Light, fragrant, exceptionally fresh produce and ever so tasty... I was delighted with my choice.

The bill must be one of cheapest we've ever had!

It has also received excellent reviews from others....

http://http://www.london-eating.co.uk/34.htm

We will definitely be returning. A lovely unpretentious place right on my doorstep, producing classic Vietnamese cuisine and incredibly good value...what more could we ask for!