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½ pound lean pork, shredded
1 pound small to medium fresh shrimps,
peeled and de-veined
2 teaspoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (preferably
Shao Hsing), optional
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, green and white portions
separated, minced
2 cups rice flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon castor sugar
¾ teaspoon turmeric powder
2¼ cups water
3 large eggs
3 cups bean sprouts, washed and drained
1 red or brown onion, halved and sliced
very thinly across
½ cup vegetable oil
Accompaniments:
2 whole butter lettuce, leaves washed
and dried
1 cup firmly packed mint leaves
1 cup firmly packed coriander (cilantro)
leaves
2 small star fruits or 1 small cucumber,
thinly sliced across
Vietnamese Dressing (nuoc cham)
Dip
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Method:
Put the pork and shrimps in a bowl and
add the fish sauce, garlic, rice wine, pepper, and the white portion
of scallions. Mix well with your fingers and set aside.
Combine the rice flour, salt, sugar, and turmeric in a bowl and
gradually stir in the water to make a very thin batter. Put the
eggs in a bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Set near the stove.
Prepare the Accompaniments. Arrange the lettuce leaves, mint,
coriander, and star fruit on a serving platter. Divide the dip
between four to eight small bowls. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in
a wok. When hot, add the pork and shrimp mixture and stir-fry
for 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and divide into eight
portions. Put the green portion of scallions, bean sprouts and
onion in a bowl and gently toss with your fingers, then add to the
portions of pork and shrimps.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying
pan, preferably cast-iron or non-stick, swirling it around to
completely grease the base and sides. Tip out the excess oil and
save it for greasing the pan next time. Re-heat the pan and when
very hot, stir the batter, then measure ⅓ cup and pour it quickly
into the frying pan, tilting the pan so that it spreads over the
bottom; don't worry if there are a few small gaps. Scatter over
one portion of the pork, shrimp and bean sprout mixture. Cover
the pan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Uncover the pan
and drizzle over about 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg, filling in any
gaps that might have been left in the pancake. Cover and cook
over medium heat for 1 minute. Remove the lid and cook uncovered
for about 1 minute, to make sure the bottom is crispy, then fold the
pancake in half and transfer to a serving plate (see Note).
Repeat, adding oil to the pan and stirring the batter each time until
you have made eight pancakes. Serve with the Accompaniments and
dip. The pancakes are normally broken into pieces and tucked in
a lettuce leaf with the herbs, a slice or two of star fruit or
cucumber and a dollop of sauce, then rolled up and eaten.
Note: Ideally, each
pancake should be served immediately and eaten while still hot and
crisp. A frying pan set on tabletop burner would be ideal,
saving you from running back to the kitchen repeatedly; alternatively,
you could use two frying pans and cook two pancakes at the same time
to speed things up.
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