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Coconut-Rice Cr&#234;pes Filled with Pork
© Kana Okada

Coconut-Rice Crêpes Filled with Pork


Chef Way Ratha Chau serves his classic Cambodian crêpes with a variation on tuk trey (fish sauce)—in this instance, fish sauce doctored overnight with sugar, carrots, ginger and other ingredients.

Easy Way We've streamlined the list of ingredients for the vibrant sauce, and opted not to let it sit overnight so it can be mixed and eaten right away.

  1. 1 cup rice flour (see Note)
  2. 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
  3. 1 large egg
  4. 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  5. 2 scallions, very finely chopped
  6. Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  7. 1/2 cup Asian fish sauce
  8. 1/4 cup sugar
  9. 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
  10. 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  11. 2 Thai chiles, thinly sliced
  12. 1 red onion, very finely chopped
  13. 2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
  14. 2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh ginger
  15. 1/4 cup shredded carrots
  16. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for frying
  17. 1 pound ground pork
  18. 1 head of red leaf lettuce; chopped roasted peanuts; mung bean sprouts; and mint, cilantro and basil leaves, for serving
  1. In a medium bowl, whisk the rice flour with the coconut milk, egg, turmeric, half of the scallions and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and black pepper. Whisk in enough tepid water (about 1 cup) for the batter to resemble thin pancake batter.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk the fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, lime juice, Thai chiles and 2 tablespoons of water. Add one-third of the chopped red onion, and half each of the garlic and ginger. Stir in the carrots.
  3. In a large skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the remaining onion, garlic and ginger and cook over moderately high heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the pork, season lightly with salt and pepper and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Stir in the remaining scallions. Transfer the pork to a bowl and keep warm.
  4. Preheat the oven to 250°. Brush a small nonstick skillet or crêpe pan very lightly with oil and heat until very hot. Pour in about 3 tablespoons of the crêpe batter and swirl the pan to coat evenly with the batter. Cook over moderately high heat until the edge is just turning brown and the crêpe is nearly set, about 1 minute. Drizzle a few drops of oil around the edge and flip the crêpe to cook the other side, about 20 seconds. Turn the crêpe out onto a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven; repeat with the remaining batter to make 7 more crêpes.
  5. Transfer the crêpes to a platter along with the lettuce leaves, sprouts and herbs. Serve alongside the pork, with the chopped peanuts and carrot-chile sauce in separate bowls. Wrap the crêpes and fillings in the lettuce leaves to eat.
Make Ahead The coconut crêpe batter and carrot-chile sauce can be refrigerated separately overnight. Notes Rice flour is made from ground white rice. It's available in Asian markets and health-food stores.

Suggested Pairing

Herbal, zesty Austrian Grüner Veltliner.