SAIGON CREPES WITH VIETNAMESE TABLE SALAD AND CILANTRO LIME DIPPING SAUCE

Saigon Crepes with Vietnamese Table Salad and Cilantro Lime Dipping Sauce image

Provided by Food Network

Time 1h3m

Yield approximately 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 26

1/4 cup dried split yellow mung beans
12 ounces coconut milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
4 cloves garlic
3 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced (a 1 1/2 to 2-inch piece ginger root)
3 tablespoons chili paste (blended hot chili peppers, garlic, oil and salt)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro with stems
1 cup soy sauce
Juice and pulp from 2 freshly squeezed limes
1/2 cup sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 leaves red leaf lettuce or green leaf lettuce
1 English cucumber, skin on, chopped
1 cup bean sprouts, trimmed of roots
1 cup mint leaves
1 cup Thai basil
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 cup rau ram leaves (Vietnamese cilantro)
1 cup chopped saw leaf herb (Ngo Gai, Thorny Coriander, or Tabasco parsley)
3 cups bean sprouts
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 bunch scallions, minced

Steps:

Toast mung beans lightly in a pan. Transfer to a bowl and soak in water to soften.;
For the cilantro lime dipping sauce:
Add the garlic cloves, fresh ginger, chili paste, cilantro, soy sauce, lime juice and pulp, water, and sugar, 1 ingredient at a time through the feed opening of a running blender. Allow "sauce" to rest for 10 minutes before tasting and adjusting seasoning with salt and pepper, as needed. Pour into individual dipping bowls.
Assemble the table salad by arranging the lettuce, cucumber, bean sprouts, mint, basil, cilantro, rau ram, and saw leaf herb in separate mounds on a serving platter.
Prepare the filling for the crepes by tossing the bean sprouts, cilantro leaves, and scallions together.
To cook the crepes, drain the mung beans and combine in a blender with coconut milk, water, rice flour, sugar, salt, and turmeric. Puree until smooth, and then strain into a small pitcher. Heat a crepe pan with a small amount of oil, and pour a thin layer of batter into the hot pan. When the crepe is cooked though and the down side is crisp, add the filling (bean sprouts, cilantro and scallions), fold the crepe in half and transfer to a serving plate. Serve crepes with table salad and dipping sauce.