Vietnamese Inspired Crispy Rice Crepes
These crispy rice flour crepes are studded with scallions and are filled with caramelized pork or turkey (although you can easily make them vegan—see below!). They get served with crunchy lettuce leaves, fresh herbs and a sweet and salty dipping sauce—it’s the ultimate combination of flavors and textures. Bean sprouts gives the crepes texture and subtle flavor, but you can omit them if you prefer. The crepes take a bit of practice, but you’ll get better as you go (and I promise the results are worth it!!). And remember, if the crepes tear in the pan it’s no big deal—you’re going to tear them up when eating anyway. Take note that the crepe batter needs to rest for at least 30 minutes (or up to 1 day) before cooking. Be sure to check out my step-by-step video above!
Servings: 6 crepes
Equipment
- 10 inch non-stick skillet
Ingredients
Crepe batter
- 1 cup (148g) Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground White Rice Flour
- 2 tablespoons (13g) Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot Starch/Flour
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup unsweetened full-fat coconut milk (well stirred)
- 1 ½ cups water
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
Dipping sauce
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- 3 tablespoons coconut sugar or granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons lime juice (from 1-2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce, or to taste
- 1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
- 1 serrano pepper or 1 small jalapeño, thinly sliced
Crepe filling
- 1 pound ground pork or dark meat ground turkey
- 6 tablespoons neutral vegetable oil (such as grapeseed or safflower oil)
- Salt
- 2 cups bean sprouts (optional)
For serving
- Red or green lettuce leaves
- Fresh mint and cilantro leaves
Instructions
Make the crepe batter
- In a bowl, whisk together the rice flour, arrowroot starch, turmeric and salt. Add the coconut milk, water and scallions, and whisk until smooth (the batter will be quite thin). Cover and let rest for 30 minutes (or refrigerate overnight). Do Ahead: The batter can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.
Make the dipping sauce
- In a small bowl, whisk together the water and sugar until the sugar is dissolved. Whisk in in the lime juice and fish sauce to taste (different brands of fish sauce vary in their intensity). Stir in the garlic and serrano pepper. Do Ahead: The sauce can be covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day.
Cook the crepes
- Preheat the oven to 200˚F (90˚C). Place a wire rack in a large baking sheet.
- Divide the pork or turkey into 6 portions on a piece of parchment paper or on a plate.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a 10-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add one portion of the ground meat and season with salt. Cook, stirring and breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, until it’s browned and cooked through, about 1-2 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and spread the meat out over the bottom of the pan.
- Give the crepe batter a good stir (the rice flour will settle to the bottom). Pour a scant ½ cup of the batter into the skillet, swirling it to evenly coat the bottom (the batter should should start to sizzle immediately). Sprinkle about ⅓ cup of the bean sprouts over one side of the crepe (if using). Cover the pan, leaving the lid slightly ajar to let the steam escape, and cook until the bean sprouts are slightly softened, about 2-3 minutes.
- Uncover the pan and loosen the edges of the crepe with a thin spatula. Let the crepe cook until the bottom is golden brown and crispy, about 1-3 minutes longer (be patient and don’t fuss—the crepe will loosen from the pan once it’s browned). Slide the crepe onto the prepared rack, folding it in half (it’s okay if it breaks!). Place the pan in the oven to keep warm.
- Repeat with the rest of the batter, stirring the crepe batter and adding another tablespoon of oil between each batch. Adjust the heat as needed (trust your instincts!).
- Serve the crepes with lettuce leaves, mint, cilantro and the dipping sauce. To eat, tear off a piece of crepe and wrap it in a lettuce leaf with a few herbs, then dunk the bundle in the dipping sauce. HEAVEN!
Notes
Do Ahead: The cooked crepes (without the lettuce and herbs) can be kept warm in the oven for up to 1 hour before serving. Leftovers are also delicious the next day! Refrigerate the crepes in an airtight container then reheat them in the oven or toaster oven until warmed through and crisp.
Tips:
- It’s important to use a good non-stick skillet for these crepes. I love my Scan Pan, which has a fantastic non-stick surface and is teflon free.
- Be sure to use Bob’s Red Mill Stone Ground White Rice Flour, not sweet rice flour or brown rice flour in these crepes.
- You can swap out the Arrowroot Starch/Flour for Cornstarch.
- Use full-fat coconut milk (not light) in the crepe batter and stir it well before using.
- If you’d like, you can swap out the ground pork or turkey for chopped fresh shrimp (or do a mix of shrimp and pork!).
- If your ground meat is really lean, feel free to add more oil to the pan as needed (conversely, if your meat is fatty you can cut back on the oil).
- For vegan rice crepes, swap out the ground meat for tofu or tempeh crumbles and increase the oil to 2 tablespoons per crepe (to prevent sticking). Also, use tamari instead of fish sauce in the dipping sauce.
- For a stronger garlic flavor in the dipping sauce, grate the garlic clove instead of slicing it.