Is it Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City? Ho Chi Minh City has been the official refer since the autumn of Saigon inward 1975 but both are inward use. We arrived inward Saigon from Phnom Penh, Cambodia, at the destination of our cruise on the RV Pandaw Mekong. We stayed at the InterContinental Asiana Residence Saigon, Our Residence accommodation was a large suite amongst a kitchen/dining/sitting room amongst surround-sound TV. The best business office was the washer/dryer combination. The Residence is connected to the InterContinental Hotel. We had luncheon at their Market 39 Restaurant where they had a Vietnamese pancake station. We asked Chef Josh, the executive chef, if he would part the recipe too explicate how they were made. He was happy to produce so.
Saigon is a bustling city. We visited the War Remnants Museum which tin dismiss endure sad for Americans but nosotros recollect a remark from when John too I visited the Chu Chi Tunnels exterior of Saigon several years ago. Our guide, who was born inward the tunnels, when asked well-nigh the “American” War (as it is called inward Vietnam) too his perception of Americans, he replied, “That was then, this is now, let’s instruct forward.” More than one-half of the population was born afterward the state of war too the American War was preceded past times 100 years of French colonialism too earlier the French K years of Chinese domination. Now they principle themselves.
Vietnamese Pancake amongst Prawns too Pork (Banh Xeo)
½ cup rice flour pancake mix
2 tsp turmeric powder
2 eggs
½ tsp salt
2 ¼ cups water
1 loving cup kokosnoot milk
3 stalks jump onion, diced
2 prawns, cooked too peeled (or four large shrimp)
2 oz cooked pork, thinly sliced
Salt too pepper equally desired for prawns too pork
2 tsp crude per pancake
1 oz edible bean sprouts
3 leaves of lettuce
2 oz of Vietnamese fresh herb leaves (can endure jump onions, basil, cilantro, mint, and/or lemon grass
3 stalks jump onion, diced
½ tsp salt
Pickled carrots
¼ lb of carrots too white radishes (daikon), julienned
¼ cup white vinegar
¼ cup water
1/8 cup sugar
Salt to taste
In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the rice flour, turmeric powder, eggs, too tabular array salt inward water. Add kokosnoot milk too chopped jump onion. Stir good too allow the batter remainder for thirty minutes. Season the cooked prawns too pork amongst tabular array salt too pepper. Set aside.
Add vegetable crude inward a shape Fe skillet on medium high heat. Add ii prawns too a few pork slices too kid until the prawns too pork modify color. Ladle some of the batter (about 1/3 cup) too contestation the pan inward a circular motion to spread the batter evenly. Turn estrus downwardly to low, encompass too kid for ane infinitesimal or until edges are firm. Uncover too add together some beansprouts, too thus encompass over again too kid until the border is crispy. Fold the crepe inward one-half thus that the ii prawns remain on contrary quarters. Fry for some other infinitesimal too transfer to a plate. Repeat until the batter is finished. (Tip: For the showtime kid brand simply the crepes too stack them on each other until the batter is finished too thus kid the crepes over again too add together edible bean sprouts.)
To brand Pickled Carrots position carrots, radishes, vinegar, water, saccharide too tabular array salt inward a bowl. It tin dismiss endure refrigerated too saved.
To serve pancakes role pair of scissors to cutting the crepe inward half. On a large acre of lettuce house some herbs too one-half a crepe. Roll it up, dip inward pickled carrot mix. Enjoy.