Recipe for Vietnamese Banh Khot, Mini Pancakes of Deliciousness

banh khot recipe

Last month’s recipe was a big hit, and several of you have sent me your photos of egg coffee based on my Vietnamese egg coffee directions. Keep them coming! In line with recent travels, this month I decided to share a banh khot recipe.

Banh khot (Bánh Khọt with diacritical marks) are mini-sized rice pancakes that are fried and served rolled up in fresh mustard leaves and herbs, then dipped in sweetened fish sauce for dipping. There are two main kinds of banh khot that I tried in Vietnam: in Vung Tau, below, a crunchy flatter disc topped with shrimp powder, and in the Mekong Delta, a slightly thicker, spongier disc that was often tinged yellow with turmeric.

It’s not a dish I had heard of prior to visiting Vietnam, having instead gotten to know its larger sister, banh xeo (“xeo” meaning sizzling, accurate for how it is cooked). Banh khot is cooked in a special pan, with mini cups like the ones used to make aebleskiver, Danish pancakes. Another option is the pan used for takoyaki, octopus balls that originated in Osaka, Japan.

Both banh khot and banh xeo are eaten using a similar technique of wrapping the pancakes in greens before eating. The readers with kids that I took for banh khot loved it as there was a DIY method to their meal. But who am I kidding, it’s equally as satisfying for adults too.

Banh Khot recipe at its source: Vung Tau, Vietnam
Vung Tau, Vietnam from my room at the edge of the beach.

History of Banh Khot

The history of banh khot is unclear. Several Vietnamese friends in Ho Chi Minh City told me that it derives from the coastal region of Vung Tau, and others have said that it derives from deeper in the Mekong Delta. No one I knew was able to trace the dish back to its roots, other than informing me that it was a smaller, sizzling version of banh xeo.

Online research was equally fruitless – “Possibly no one knows when banh khot … appeared in Vietnam’s cuisine and people are sure if the popular and cheap dish is the specialty of the southern coastal province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau” said one site.  Right.

What is clear is that Vung Tau, even if it is not the birthplace of the dish, has certainly become the place to try it. While there are a few places in HCMC that make the mini rice pancakes, they pale in comparison to what we ate at the side of the road in Vung Tau for a fraction of the price.Popular at breakfast, banh khot is also available at several restaurants in town at all hours of the day.

As Tom from Vietnam Coracle notes, “Looking like a collection of asymmetrical coins from a haul of ancient treasure, bánh khọt are mostly found on the southeast coast, but nowhere more so than the thriving beach town of Vũng Tàu.”

What follows is a simplified version of the banh khot found in Vung Tau and Ho Chi Minh City. Often, the shrimp topping is complimented by a shrimp powder (you can see it in the second to last photo below), made with ground shrimp, Annatto oil and fish sauce. The optional powder recipe is found at the end, but the dish is also delicious without it.

recipe for banh khot - crispy mini vietnamese pancakes
Banh khot.

As a celiac, it’s important for me to note that this is also a gluten-free recipe. However, if you take the short cut of buying banh khot mix from a store, do take a look closely at the ingredients, since they often include wheat flour as well as the usual rice flour mixtures.

Banh Khot Recipe: Bite-Sized Rice Pancakes

Hardware

  • Banh Khot pan (if you cannot find a banh khot pan at a local Asian grocer, then Amazon sells a Takoyaki pan or a cast iron Aebleskiver pan, each of which will do just fine! If nonstick is your jam, this one is an option)

Banh Khot Ingredients

  • 1 package of banh khot flour mix, or 1.10 pounds (500 grams) of rice flour and 0.10 pounds (100 grams) of glutinous rice flour
  • 1 can of coconut milk
  • 1  1/2 cups of water
  • 1/2 cup of hulled mung bean (they can be bought pre-hulled)
  • 10 shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 1 clove of minced fresh chopped garlic
  • 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric
  • 3 spring onions, chopped (discard the white part)
  • springs of coriander, chopped, for garnish
  • fresh Vietnamese mint, chopped, for garnish
  • mustard leaves, for wrapping
  • romaine lettuce leaves, for wrapping
  • fresh perilla and basil herb, for wrapping
  • vegetable oil
  • 1 teaspoon of salt
Herbs for wrapping banh khot
Herbs for banh khot and banh xeo

Preparation:

  • In a bowl mix the two flours (or take the bag of banh khot flour) and add the coconut milk  until it is a smooth paste.
  • Add smaller amounts of the water at a time until fully mixed, then the turmeric, and half of the chopped green onion and salt.
  • Wash and chop shrimp into smaller pieces and sauté quickly in a small amount of vegetable oil with with the chopped garlic and the rest of the spring onion and a dash of salt. Set aside.
  • Pour a small amount of vegetable oil into each indentation of the banh khot pan and heat until beginning to sizzle.
  • Add batter into each indentation until approximately 2/3 full, cover and cook for about 3- 5 minutes.
  • Remove the cover and add one or two pieces of shrimp and a tablespoon of mung bean to each of the indentations, then re-cover.
  • Cooking complete when the sides of the pancakes are crispy and batter has fully set. (Usually an additional 3-5 minutes, depending on heat of the stove.)
  • Top each of the pancakes with some chopped coriander and mint and, if you have decided to make it, the dried shrimp topping.

Serve with mustard leaves, romaine lettuce leaves and fresh perilla and basil for to create your own spring roll with each pancake, wrapping a banh khot in leaves and herbs, then dipping it into the fish sauce.

crispy rice cake recipe
Banh khot with shrimp.

Powdered shrimp topping: (optional)

  • 1/2 cup dried shrimp (soaked in warm water for at least 10 minutes)
  • 1/2 teaspoon annato oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
Rinse and drain shrimp, then pat dry with paper towel and grind them in a food processor. Heat a nonstick pan and fry the ground shrimp mixture with the fish sauce and annatto oil until the liquid has evaporated fully and the mixture is dry, stirring constantly. This can be cooked ahead of time then set aside for later use.

Dipping sauce:

  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2-3 tablespoons of sugar (depending on how sweet you’d like your sauce)
  • 1/2 lime, juiced.
  • 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
  • Optional: 1 clove of garlic (finely chopped) and 2 red chillies (chopped)

Mix water, sugar and lime until sugar dissolves. Slowly add desired amount of fish sauce (more is better!) . If you’d like a bigger punch to the sauce, add in garlic cloves and chillies, though these can be served on the table and added to each person’s dipping dish depending on their preference.

Banh khot shrimp powder
Banh khot shrimp powder
Banh khot in Vung Tau
Banh khot in Vung Tau

Where to Find Banh Khot in Ho Chi Minh City

If you can’t make it to Vung Tau, there are options in HCMC where you can enjoy this satisfying, crunchy dish.

For other food options, see my Ho Chi Minh City self-toured street food guide.

Banh Khot Co Ba Vung Tau | Address: 102 Cao Thang Street, District 3.

When in the mood for reliable banh khot in town, this is where friends and I would go. The restaurant offers different flavours of pork or seafood, and the giant mustard leaves are bottomless – when you run out, you get more in a flash. It’s also one of the few spots that makes a banh khot chay (vegetarian option) for those with vegetarian dining companions.

Further Reading about Banh Khot and Vietnam

Bon appetit!

-Jodi

23 thoughts on “Recipe for Vietnamese Banh Khot, Mini Pancakes of Deliciousness”

  1. Yummy. Been to several Asian countries, but not Vietnam. I think this dish is one more reason to make the journey. Really love your posts. Thanks

  2. That looks absolutely delicious! Thanks for sharing :) I’ll need to get the ingredients but I’ll try to make this soon

  3. Loved reading this Jodi (:

    I started reading your blog round about the time I started law school and now I’m on the cusp of graduating! So I’ve had the privilege of following your story for almost 3 years!

    Its been so lovely seeing you transition into (more) food writing of late!

    I consider the fact that I’m slightly more intimidated by the longer ingredient lists as a sign of progress (also a testament to your ability to collect great recipes!!) Please keep the recipes coming! :D

  4. By chance surfing your page and glad to see Vietnamese cuisine beautifully displayed here, more beautiful than I usually notice.

    If you have more time and would like to discover more food of the other regions here in Saigon, just drop me a line when you’re back. I would be happy to show you a food tour around the city.

  5. You are turning into the Fuschia Dunlop of Vietnam! I’m really enjoying the recipes and the effort you go to to discover them.

    1. Lady, that is QUITE the compliment – I love her writing something fierce. I actually missed a subway stop in New york because I was so deeply engrossed in her Sichuan book :)

  6. Banh khot and banh xeo are my favorite street foods! Glad I found that recipe so that I’ll be able to recreate it when I leave Hanoi!

  7. I love this recipe. I have Vietnamese friends who make this and Banh xeo. But, Alas, I am allergic to shrimp. Are there any variations that use other fillings? such as pork belly, which my friends use for me with the Banh xeo. thanks for your blog

  8. I made bahn khot last night for the first time. My pan only makes 7 at a time and I was having a small dinner party, so I made them in advance: I put the finished cakes on a wire rack over a cookie sheet and when it was time to serve them, I popped the tray under the broiler for five minutes or so, until the tops were just starting to brown around the edges. They were warm and crispy and everyone loved them.

  9. Banh khot is primarily found in Vung Tau, just as you said, with sometimes several banh khot restaurants on the same street. It is harder to find in HCMC, and I could find only one place in Da Lat for banh khot. Your recipe calls for peeled and veined shrimp, so I will point out that often in Vietnam the shrimp is neither peeled or veined. The shrimp is usually cooked so that the shell is crispy, but sometimes the shell is a bit chewy if the shrimp is boiled. The locals will tell you to eat the shell because that is where the calcium is, but it is not true.

    1. Thanks Steven! Yes, the recipe I gave was based on the consensus that my readers preferred no shell/veins, but in Vietnam that extra crunchiness is part of the dish. Thanks for reading!

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