Crispy Yellow Pancakes – serves 6-8 pancakes

I used to live in Vietnam many years ago and this vibrant recipe was inspired by the dish called Banh Xeo. This is more of a savoury pancake instead of the usual pancakes we serve with syrup so perfect when you have lettuces and other fresh green herbs such as mint leaves in your garden to use as fillings. 

You will need:

Batter ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• ½ cup of corn starch flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon of ground turmeric
• 1 cup of light coconut milk
• ½ cup of water
• 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil 

Fillings (optional):

• 150gr of minced pork: sauté the minced pork with a tablespoon of oil, finely chopped garlic, ½ teaspoon of five spice powder and a splash of fish sauce. Cook for about 15-20 minutes. Set aside let it cool down. If you are vegetarian, you could use quorns.
• Cooked prawns (12 pieces ) – if you are vegetarian, substitute prawns with tofu
• A variety of lettuce & salad leaves
• Sliced carrots
• Sliced onion
• Roughly chopped coriander leaves
• Chopped spring onions
• A handful of mint leaves 

Dipping sauce:

• ¼ cup of fish sauce
• ¼ cup of lime juice
• 1 tablespoon of caster sugar, dilute with ¼ cup of hot water
• Chopped red chillies
• 1 finely chopped garlic 

Or if you do not have time to make a dipping sauce, substitute with sweet chili sauce. 

How to make it:

Mix all the ingredients well for the batter. Prepare a non-stick pan. Think about how you usually make normal pancakes and use the same method. Heat pan on medium with 1 tablespoon of oil then pour the batter into the pan using a ladle. 

When the pancake is cooked, put aside and keep repeating until no batter is left. This recipe will allow you to make around 6-8 pancakes. 

Fill each pancake with the cooked minced pork, cooked prawns, lettuce, sliced carrots, coriander leaves, sliced onions, mint leaves and spring onions. I like to add bean sprouts too for extra crunch.

Dina Watt grew up in Bandung, West-Java, Indonesia and now happily married and living in Aberdeenshire, she is known as The Indonesian Cook. In her regular column, Dina shares her own adventurous recipes for delicious home cooked meals that are easy to make, mostly using the homegrown, seasonal, fresh fruits and vegetables from her own Scottish garden. 

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