‘Bánh xèo’ literally means ‘sizzling’ in Vietnamese; when you pour the batter into a hot pan it sizzles madly, hence the name. In the central part of the country, the bánh xèo are much smaller than they are in Saigon – and my guy on Cô Giang Street makes this dainty-sized one. The batter is made using regular flour, rice flour, turmeric and coconut cream and the secret to crisp, crusty, crunchy bánh xèo is to cook them in quite a hot pan. On the street, they use copious amounts of oil but they get crisp just as well in a non-stick pan with minimal oil. Inside the bánh xèo are prawns, bits of pork, bean sprouts and cooked mung beans and, to eat the pancake, which is served folded over, you wrap large pieces of it together with fresh herbs in rice paper and lettuce leaves and dunk it into nuoc cham. It’s one of my all-time favourite things to eat; I just love it.