Green Mangoes and Lemon Grass. Wendy Hutton

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      happy pancakes with pork & prawns bahn khoai

      This is one of several types of savory pancake sold by street vendors and market stalls "in Vietnam. In line with the Vietnamese passion for fresh flavors, the pancakes are eaten with lettuce and herbs, with Salted Soybean & Peanut Dip drizzled over (but they're just as good with the ubiquitous Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dip). The pancakes are usually prepared from scratch for each person in Vietnam, but I find it's quicker to cook all the pork and prawn filling in advance when you're serving pancakes for several people.

      ½ lb (250 g) lean pork, shredded

      1 lb (500 g) small to medium fresh prawns, peeled and deveined

      2 teaspoons fish sauce

      2 teaspoons minced garlic

      1 teaspoon Chinese rice wine (preferably Shao Hsing), optional

      ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

      2 spring onions, green and white portions separated, minced

      2 cups (320 g) rice flour

      1 teaspoon salt

      1 teaspoon caster sugar

      ¾ teaspoon turmeric powder

      2¼ cups (560 ml) water

      3 large eggs

      3 cups (250 g) bean sprouts, washed and drained

      1 red or brown onion, halved and sliced very thinly across

      ½ cup (125 ml) vegetable oil

      Accompaniments

      2 whole butter lettuce, leaves washed and dried

      1 cup firmly packed mint leaves

      1 cup firmly packed coriander leaves

      2 small star fruit or 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced across

      Salted Soybean, Pork & Peanut Sauce (page 178) or Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dip (page 175)

      Put the pork and prawns in a bowl and add the fish sauce, garlic, rice wine, pepper, and the white portion of spring onions. 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 prawn mixture and stir-fry for 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and divide into eight portions. Put the green portion of spring onions, bean sprouts, and onion in a bowl and gently toss with your fingers, then add to the portions of pork and prawn.

      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, prawn, 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.

      Serves: 4-8 Makes: about 8 pieces using a 8½-in (22-cm) frying pan

      Preparation time: 20 min Cooking time: 40 min

      thai tuna carpaccio

      Wafer-thin slices of beef marinated in lime juice and seasonings can be found in northern Thailand but in this modern variation, fresh tuna replaces the beef and is marinated not only with lime juice but olive oil, like the well-known Italian beef carpaccio. All you need for this recipe is spanking fresh tuna, lime juice, olive oil, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh coriander leaf. It's amazingly easy to prepare, and bound to be a success as a part of either a Southeast Asian or Western meal.

      ½ cup (125 ml) extra virgin olive oil

      ¼ cup (60 ml) lime or lemon juice

      2-3 teaspoons fish sauce

      ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

      13 oz (400 g) sashimi-quality fresh tuna, thinly sliced

      3 tablespoons minced fresh coriander leaf

      Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, fish sauce, and black pepper in a small bowl, whisking to blend. Pour half of the dressing onto a flat plate large enough to hold tuna slices in one layer. Arrange the tuna on top of the dressing, then spoon the remaining dressing over the top. Cover the plate with plastic wrap and refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.

      Transfer the tuna slices to a serving plate, sprinkling with fresh coriander leaf.

      Serves: 4 Preparation time: 8 min

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