Banh Xeo / Bánh xèo

Rasa Malaysia shows you how to make a delicious Bánh xèo. Credit: Rasa Malaysia

Bánh xèo, which translates to “sizzling cake”, is a savory Vietnamese dish made in a style of a crepe. I myself usually refer to it as a pancake though, as do many others.

These crispy, refreshing Vietnamese crepes are made from a combined batter of rice flower, coconut milk, and turmeric for the crepe. To add a bit of flavor a little bit of salt is added into this. Fillings most often include shrimp, boiled pork, bean sprouts, chopped green onion and sliced onion. Another common addition, is mung beans, although this is more common in the Southern regions. Other fillings can be added based in preference as I've seen some add egg or tofu as well.

When eaten, it is usually accompanied by nước chấm, which refers to Vietnamese dipping sauces. In this case, it is a mix of nước mắm (fish sauce), water, and sugar as the base. To flavor, vinegar, lemon or lime, minced garlic or even chopped bird’s eye chilies. Now, my family usually refers to this sauce as just nước mắm, since we use it as a general term so it was a surprise to learn that most others refer to this as nước chấm! Also, algin, with the nước chấm, these crepes are eaten wrapped in lettuce and and mixed herbs. Usually some of the crepe is taken along with it's filling, and wrapped inside said greens and then dipped into the dipping sauce, which makes are a refreshing and delicious dish.

A vegetarian variation by Emily Han. Credit: The Kitchn

To find out more about bánh xèo, Vietnam-beauty talks about it in more depth, including some more variations and places you could find it if you were to be in Vietnam. A delicious looking recipe can be found on

Rasa Malaysia. If you wanted a vegetarian version, The Kitchn here swaps out the the meat for some tofu, and the nước chấm for some soy sauce . Bon Appétit here provides some good tips on getting it nice and perfect. And if you were confused between the difference between "Fish Sauce" and "Nước Mắm", then this is an interesting read. It clarified the difference for me, since I've always used those two terms interchangeably.

Thanks for reading,

Jess.