Bánh Xèo with Tofu & Mushrooms

📝 Ingredients

• 180 g rice flour (not glutinous) + 1 tsp turmeric
• 200 ml full-fat coconut milk + 300 ml cold water
• 3 spring onions + 3 garlic cloves
• 400 g firm tofu
• 250 g button mushrooms
• 200 g bean sprouts
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil (1 for the filling, 2 for the crêpes)
• 3 tbsp soy sauce (1 for the tofu, 2 for the sauce)
• 2 tbsp caster sugar + 6 tbsp water (for the sauce)
• 2 limes (for the sauce)
• 1 lettuce (about 300 g)
• 20 g fresh mint
• Salt

🍴 Utensils

• Mixing bowl
• Whisk
• Large non-stick frying pan (26 cm) with lid
• Wide spatula
• Ladle
• Bowl

📖 Steps

1. Slice the spring onions, separating the whites and greens. In the mixing bowl, combine the rice flour, turmeric and 1 pinch of salt, then pour in the coconut milk and cold water, whisking until you have a very runny batter, like milk. Add the onion greens and leave to rest for 30 min.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce: squeeze the limes, very finely chop 1 garlic clove and mix in the bowl with 2 tbsp soy sauce, the sugar and the water until the sugar has dissolved. Wash and spin-dry the lettuce and mint, then pick off the leaves and arrange them on a platter.
3. Drain the tofu, press it between two sheets of kitchen paper to remove as much water as possible and cut it into 1 cm sticks. Slice the mushrooms, chop the remaining 2 garlic cloves, and rinse and drain the bean sprouts.
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in the pan over a high heat and brown the tofu for 6 to 7 min, turning it. Reduce to a medium heat, add the mushrooms, garlic and onion whites and cook for 5 min, until the water from the mushrooms has evaporated. Drizzle with 1 tbsp soy sauce and set aside.
5. Wipe the pan and return it to a medium-high heat with 1 tsp oil, spread well. Stir the batter (the flour sinks to the bottom), pour in a ladleful of about 100 ml and immediately tilt the pan to cover the base with a very thin layer: it should sizzle.
6. Spread a sixth of the filling and a handful of bean sprouts over one half of the crêpe. Cover for 2 min, then remove the lid and cook for 3 to 4 min without touching it, until the edges are golden and the crêpe is crisp and comes away on its own.
7. Fold the crêpe in half with the spatula and slide it onto a plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter, adding 1 tsp oil for each crêpe: you'll get 6 bánh xèo, which you can keep warm in the oven at 90 °C.
8. To eat, cut off a piece of crêpe, wrap it in a lettuce leaf with a few mint leaves and dip it in the soy and lime sauce. Allow 2 crêpes per person.