Sizzling crêpes with prawns (bánh xèo tôm)

Bánh xèo is a light savoury crêpe, eaten with an abundance of salad leaves and herbs. There’s a knack to eating these: gather a handful of leaves and herbs in your hand, break off some crêpe onto the leaves, then roll it up and dip it into the sauce. You can vary the filling. 30 MINUTES | MAKES 6 | EASY |

rice flour (non-glutinous) 100g

ground turmeric 1 heaped tsp

coconut milk 200ml

spring onion 1, thinly sliced

sea salt flakes ½ tsp

caster sugar a pinch

FILLING vegetable or coconut oil for frying

shallots 2 round, thinly sliced

shelled king prawns 200g, de-veined and halved

bean sprouts 100g garlic chives or coriander 50g (optional)

TO SERVE

lettuce leaves large handful

spring onions 3, cut into short lengths

Asian herbs a few handfuls (such as coriander, thai sweet basil, garden mint, perilla and cockscomb)

DIPPING SAUCE (NƯỚC MẤM)

bird’s-eye chillies 2, finely chopped

garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped

caster sugar 3 tbsp

white wine vinegar 3 tbsp

fish sauce 4 tbsp

1 To make the crêpe batter, mix together the flour, turmeric, coconut milk, the spring onion, salt, sugar and 200ml of water in a bowl until smooth and free of lumps. It should have the consistency of single cream.

2 To make the filling, heat 1 tsp of oil in a 20cm lidded non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and fry a few slices of shallot until golden. Season the prawns with salt and pepper, then put a few of them in the pan, stirring for 1 minute.

3 Using a shallow ladle, pour in a thin layer of the batter, swirling the pan to cover all around the edges. Add a handful of the bean sprouts and garlic chives, then cover the pan with the lid. Allow to cook for 2 minutes with the lid on.

4 Remove the lid and cook for a further minute, making sure the crêpe is crisp and golden. Fold the crêpe in half, serve or set aside. Repeat this process with the remaining shallots, batter and other ingredients to make the rest of the crêpes.

5 To make the dipping sauce, mix together all of the ingredients with 80ml of water. Serve alongside the crêpes, with the lettuce, spring onions and herbs.

PER SERVING 220 kcals | fat 8.6G saturates 7G | carbs 26.1G | sugars 11.8G fibre 1.3G | protein 9G | salt 3.3G