I love making gluten free savoury pancakes as they are easy to whip together quickly in the evening and you can fill them with whatever you want, so they are a good way to use leftovers (my granny taught me well) as well as allowing you to change the dish every time you make it or to the taste of the person eating it.
This is a Vietnamese dish and normally consists of pork and prawns. I prefer this vegetarian version as it is nice and light and the freshness of the vegetables and herbs are mind-blowing.
This recipe is taken from Ottolenghi’s Plenty, my vegetarian food bible.
Ingredients
For the pancake
- 200g rice flour
- 1 small free-range egg
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground turmeric
- 400ml canned coconut milk
- ½-1 tbsp. coconut oil
For the sauce
- 40ml lime juice
- 1½ tbsp. toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp. tamari
- 2 tsp. grated fresh root ginger
- 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ tsp. salt
For the filling
- 1 large carrot, peeled
- 4 radishes, chopped
- 4 spring onions/scallions
- 1 fresh green chilli, deseeded (optional)
- 80g mangetout
- 15g coriander
- 15g Thai basil/basil
- 15g mint
- 100g bean sprouts
- 100g Enoki mushrooms
Method
- Start with the pancake ingredients. Place the rice flour, egg, salt and turmeric in a large bowl. Slowly ass the coconut milk, whisking well to get rid of any lumps. You want the consistency of single cream, so add water of more coconut milk if needed. Set aside to rest.
- To make the sauce, just whisk together all the ingredients, adjusting the amount of chilli to your liking.
- Finally prepare the vegetables, shred the carrot, slice the spring onions/scallions at an angle and cut the green chilli and mange tout into long thin strips. Pick the herb leaves. Set all the prepared vegetables and herbs aside with the mushrooms and bean sprouts.
- Heat a large non-stick pan to a medium heat; add a small amount of coconut oil.
- Pour one quarter of the batter and swirl around to coat the bottom of the pan. Once the underside is golden brown, turn over the pancake and cook the other side. Remove from the pan and keep warm while you make the other three pancakes.
- To serve, place pancake on a plate and pile vegetables and herbs over one half of it. Drizzle the vegetables with some sauce and fold the other half of the pancake over them. Spoon some more sauce on top and serve, with any remaining sauce on the side.
