Delightful Crepes
- 1 3/4 cups jasmine or regular long-grain rice
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 pound boneless pork shoulder, thinly sliced into small strips
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 pound small white shrimp in their shells (page 273), legs and tails trimmed
- 1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 scallions, green part only, cut into 1-inch lengths (brimming 1/3 cup)
- 3 cups bean sprouts (about 1/2 pound)
- 1 1/2 cups canola or other neutral oil
- Vegetable Garnish Plate (page 313), preferably with the addition of red perilla
- 1 1/2 cups Spicy Hoisin-Garlic Sauce (page 310)
- To make the batter, put the rice in a bowl and add water to cover by 1 inch.
- Let soak for 3 to 4 hours.
- Drain the rice and transfer to a blender.
- Add the salt, turmeric, and water and blend for about 3 minutes, or until very smooth and lemony yellow.
- Pour the batter through a fine-mesh sieve positioned over a bowl and discard the solids.
- Set the batter aside for 1 hour to thicken; it should be the consistency of heavy cream.
- There should be about 4 cups.
- Meanwhile, make the filling.
- In a bowl, combine the pork, fish sauce, pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon each of the sugar and salt and use chopsticks to mix well.
- In another bowl, combine the shrimp with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon each sugar and salt and mix well.
- In a skillet, heat 2 teaspoons of the oil medium heat.
- Add the pork and saute for about 2 minutes, or until aromatic and just cooked through.
- Transfer to a small plate or bowl.
- Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the skillet over medium heat, add the shrimp, and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the shells are pink.
- Transfer to another small plate or bowl.
- Put the pork, shrimp, and other filling ingredients; the batter; and the oil next to one side of the stove.
- Put a wire rack on a baking sheet and place the sheet on the other side of the stove.
- For each crepe, heat 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of the oil in an 8-inch cast iron or heavy nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- Because the rice will have settled at the bottom of the bowl, give the batter a good stir with a ladle.
- Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into the skillet and swirl the pan to film the bottom thickly.
- The batter should sizzle, seize, and bubble.
- Visualize a line down the middle of the skillet and roughly arrange about 2 tablespoons pork and 3 shrimp on either side of the line.
- Drizzle a scant tablespoon of beaten egg evenly over the crepe, scatter 1 1/2 teaspoons of the scallions on top, and then place 1/4 cup of the bean sprouts on one-half.
- Cover and cook until the bean sprouts have wilted slightly, about 2 minutes.
- Remove the lid and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes to crisp the crepe.
- The edge will have pulled away from the skillet and be lifting upward.
- At this point, use a spatula to check underneath.
- It should be pockmarked, crispy, and without soft spots.
- If the crepe needs to cook a little longer, lower the heat and add more oil if necessary to prevent sticking.
- When the crepe is ready, use the spatula to fold it in half and transfer it to the rack to drain.
- (If the crepe is hard to fold, transfer it to the rack and fold it after it has cooled; it is okay if the spine breaks.)
- Adjust the heat as needed to ensure a hot, but not smoking, skillet.
- Repeat with the remaining batter and filling ingredients to make 12 crepes in all.
- When you are comfortable with the technique, you can try frying the crepes in 2 skillets at the same time.
- The crepes taste best straight from the skillet, but they will stay crunchy and tasty for 2 hours.
- Keep them on the rack until serving.
- Arrange the crepes on platters and serve with the vegetable garnish plate and dipping sauce.
- Pass around 1 or 2 pairs of kitchen scissors for diners to cut their crepes into manageably sized pieces.
- To eat, tear a piece of lettuce roughly the size of your palm, place a piece of the crepe on it, add cucumber slices and a few herb leaves, drizzle on a little sauce, and shape into a bundle.
jasmine, salt, ground turmeric, water, pork shoulder, fish sauce, black pepper, sugar, salt, white shrimp, neutral oil, eggs, scallions, bean sprouts, canola, red perilla, hoisingarlic sauce
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/delightful-crepes-382990 (may not work)