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Vietnam · Recipe

3 min read

Bánh Khọt: Vietnamese Shrimp Pancakes

Small shrimp pancakes with crisp edges, fresh herbs and a bowl of nước chấm.

Bánh khọt topped with shrimp

Bánh khọt and bánh xèo

Bánh khọt are small, round savoury pancakes cooked in the wells of a pan. In the Vũng Tàu style, a shrimp sits in each pancake. Bánh xèo uses related rice-batter flavours but is cooked as a large, thin crepe and folded around its filling. Both are good with fresh greens and dipping sauce. The difference at the stove is the shape of the pan and how you portion each bite. Vũng Tàu tourism guide · Vietnam Tourism on bánh xèo

Ingredients

You’ll need a bánh khọt or æbleskiver pan with a lid, plus a small spoon to lift the pancakes out.

Rice flour, coconut milk, spices and shrimp laid out for bánh khọt
Batter ingredients and shrimp.
A cast-iron bánh khọt pan with round wells
A pan with individual wells gives each pancake its crisp rim.

For the batter

  • 1 cup non-glutinous rice flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • ½ teaspoon fine salt

For the topping and pan

  • 16 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
  • Neutral cooking oil, for brushing the pan and finishing the pancakes

To serve

  • Lettuce or mustard greens for wrapping
  • Fresh mint, Thai basil or perilla
  • Nước chấm, Vietnamese fish-sauce dip

How to make bánh khọt

  1. Mix the batter and season the shrimp. Whisk the rice flour, cornstarch, turmeric and salt together. Add the water and coconut milk and whisk until smooth. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes. Pat the shrimp dry and toss with the salt and pepper.

    Water being poured into a bowl of bánh khọt batter ingredients
    Whisk the liquids into the dry ingredients.
    Peeled shrimp in a bowl with salt and pepper
    Dry the shrimp before seasoning.

  2. Heat the pan and set the batter. Brush each well, including the rim, with oil and heat over medium heat. Stir the batter again and fill the wells about two-thirds full. Cover for 1–2 minutes, until the edges begin to set and the middle is still soft.

    Bánh khọt pan with bowls of batter, shrimp, oil and spring onions
    Set the batter and toppings beside the stove.
    Batter being poured into the wells of the hot pan
    Leave space in each well for the shrimp.

  3. Add the shrimp and crisp the edges. Place a shrimp in the centre of each pancake, then add spring onion and a little oil. Cover again and cook until the shrimp is firm and opaque throughout, about 5–8 minutes depending on the pan and the size of the shrimp. Uncover for the last minute or two to crisp the bases. Slide a small spoon underneath each pancake to lift it out, then oil the wells for the next batch. FDA seafood doneness guidance

    A shrimp being placed into a partially set pancake
    Set a shrimp into the soft centre.
    Spring onions and oil being added to the pancakes
    Add the spring onions before covering again.

Recipe method and step photographs by Quynh Nguyen. Savory Sweet Spoon’s bánh khọt recipe

How to eat it

Place one warm pancake in a leaf of lettuce or mustard greens, add herbs, fold it into a bite and dip it in nước chấm. The greens cool the hot pancake and the sauce cuts through the rich coconut batter. Serve each batch as it comes out of the pan to keep the edges crisp. Vũng Tàu serving tradition