VIETNAMESE PANCAKES WITH PRAWNS

Gizzi Erskine

Gizzi Erskine

27th February 2019
Gizzi Erskine

VIETNAMESE PANCAKES WITH PRAWNS

Everybody loves a pancake, but this is a something a bit different. The addition of the coconut flour and coconut milk, gives these a great flavour which works perfectly with the fragrant herbs and sweetness of the prawns. The traditional way to eat these is to cut them into strips and wrap up in a lettuce leaf to form a delicious little fresh and crunchy parcel. I've used coconut sugar instead of the traditional palm sugar in the Nuoc Cham sauce, as not only is it easier to work with, it provides a caramel note which works really well. I recommend using a non-stick pan to cook the pancakes to prevent them sticking as they can be a little delicate.

Ingredients

  • Filling:
  • 2 Tbsp The Groovy Food Company Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
  • 12 Raw prawns, peeled and deveined, and halved length ways
  • 1 Onion thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 100g Bean sprouts
  • A Head of romaine lettuce separated into leaves
  • Handful of Thai basil leaves
  • Handful of coriander, leaves picked
  • Handful of mint leaves
  • ½ Carrot peeled and cut into matchsticks
  • Nuoc Cham Sauce:
  • 2 red Thai bird’s eye chillies, deseeded if you prefer
  • Juice of 2-3 limes
  • 2 tbsp Fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp The Groovy Food Company Organic Coconut Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Rehydrated tamarind paste
  • Pancake:
  • 1 tbsp The Groovy Food Company Organic Coconut Flour
  • 2 tbsp Rice flour
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 200ml Coconut milk
  • ½ tsp Salt
  • 1 tbsp Finely sliced spring onion
  • 4 Free range egg whites
  • The Groovy Food Company Organic Virgin Coconut Oil for frying

Method

Method:
1. First make the pancake batter. In a food processor, mix together the flours, turmeric, coconut milk, salt, and egg whites, and blitz until smooth.
2. Stir in the spring onions, and set to one side.
3. For the Nuoc Cham sauce, mix together the chillis, lime juice, fish sauce, coconut sugar and tamarind paste in a bowl, and set to one side.
4. In a small nonstick frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the organic virgin coconut oil over a medium heat until very hot.
5. Add the onions and fry for 1 minute, followed by the prawns and carrots, and stir fry for a further 2-3 minutes.
6. Next stir through the oyster sauce, soy sauce and bean sprouts. Remove from the heat and spoon out onto a plate.
7. Return the pan to heat, adding a teaspoon of oil. Ladle the pancake batter into the pan, tilting to spread evenly, and cook until the pancake is just starting to crisp.
8. Add half the prawn mixture to the pan, cover, and cook for a further 2 minutes, until the underside of the pancake is crisp.
9. Fold the pancake in half and cook for a further two minutes, until the outside of the pancake is crisp and the inside is soft but cooked.
10. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling.
11. To serve, cut the pancake into slices, bundle it into a lettuce leaf and wrap with some extra herbs. Dip into the sauce and scoff!

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