Kiwanda wrote:

> Folks-
>
> I tried making Banh Xeo for the first time tonight and the result
> wasn't quite what I'd hoped for. I think I made the batter too thick,
> and perhaps didn't have enough oil in the pan...at any rate the
> pancake came out about as thick as a "regular" western pancake. When
> I've had Banh Xeo in resturants it's been more like a crepe and
> crispy. Is there a secret technique to making these right? Do I just
> need to cook them in a wok with a lot of oil, rather than trying to
> use a skillet?
>
> For those that may not be familiar with "Banh Xeo," it is often
> listed as "happy pancake" or "Hanoi pancake" on Vietnamese resturaunt
> menus. It's a thin, crispy pancake made of rice flour and coconut
> milk, filled with shrimp, pork, bean sprouts, etc. and eaten wrapped
> in lettuce with nuoc cham. They are *really* delicious...the ones I
> made tonight tasted OK but the texture was definately wrong as they
> were too thick/doughy.
>
> I'd appreciate any hints anyone can offer!
>
> Thanks,
>
> Kiwanda

I don't know anything about Banh Xeo or Vietnamese cooking, but I have
been experimenting lately with rice flour (for Persian and Japanese
cooking). Could it be that you are not using the good type of flour?
There are as many types of rice flour as there are types of rice - more
in fact since the rice can be grounded in different ways. The wrong
type of flour will affect radically the texture. Maybe you should get
some Vietnamese rice flour if you haven't.

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