My Mother’s Bánh Khọt Recipe

A Traditional Vietnamese Pancake

The Best Vietnamese Pancakes Come from My Mother’s Kitchen

No one makes Vietnamese pancakes like my mother. Her Bánh Khọt recipe is truly the best.

The combination of rice flour, coconut, shrimp, and pork filling makes this dish special and different from other Vietnamese pancakes. Crispy on the outside, soft and creamy inside — each bite is full of flavor and texture.

This traditional Vietnamese dish is not just food. It is memory.

What Is Bánh Khọt?

Bánh Khọt is a popular Vietnamese street food made from rice flour batter cooked in small round molds until golden and crispy. Traditionally topped with shrimp and served with fresh herbs and dipping sauce, it is a beloved dish across Vietnam.

Our family version includes:

• Rice flour

• Coconut milk

• Soybean puree

• Water

• Shrimp

• Ground pork

The batter, made from rice flour, coconut, and soybean puree mixed with creamy coconut milk and water, creates a perfect balance , light yet rich, crispy yet tender.

A Dish That Brings Back Childhood Memories

This pancake is more than street food. It is a unique home-cooked dish that brings back memories of my childhood.

We would gather around the table, my siblings, aunties, my mother, preparing lunch together. It was always an all-girls party.

This dish takes time to cook. But the fun was never just the eating.

The joy was in waiting, chatting, laughing, and watching the pancakes slowly crisp in the pan. The smell of coconut and shrimp filling the kitchen. The sound of sizzling batter.

Food was never rushed. It was shared.

Crunchy outside, creamy savoury soft texture from the inside.

A Recipe Passed Down Through Generations

My mother told me she has been cooking Bánh Khọt since she was young. She learned it from her grandmother.

As a child, she even made money by selling these little pancakes to her siblings and cousins.

That spirit of resourcefulness and tradition lives on every time we cook this dish.

Today, when I make Bánh Khọt, I am not just recreating a recipe. I am continuing a family tradition that has traveled across generations and across countries.

Yield:

• Make 12-20 pieces

Supplies:

• Mixing bowl large size or stand mixer

• Spatula

• Whisk

• Pancake pan

• Scale

• Chopping boardPreparing the Shrimp and Pork Filling

How to Make the Bánh Khọt Batter

My mother always cooked this dish by relying on her senses — no measuring cups, no scale. Just instinct.

I’ve converted her recipe into exact measurements in cups and grams so you can easily recreate it at home.

Ingredients for the Batter

Ingredients for the batter

• 1⅓ cups (130g) rice flour

• ½ cup pureed soybeans (soak dried soybeans overnight, then blend until smooth)

• ½ can coconut milk (about 200ml)

• ½ cup cold water

• ½ teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the rice flour and salt.

2. Add the pureed soybeans and mix well.

3. Pour in the coconut milk and cold water.

4. Stir everything together until smooth and fully combined.

The batter should be slightly thin but not watery. If it feels too thick, add a little more water. If it’s too thin, add a small amount of rice flour.

Set the batter aside while you prepare the filling.

A Note from the Past

Back then, rice flour wasn’t always available in the market. My family used a traditional stone grinder to grind soaked rice into fresh batter. The pancakes were cooked in a red clay Bánh Khọt pan over charcoal.

That method gave the pancakes a very special flavor slightly smoky, deeply fragrant, and impossible to fully replicate today.

But even now, with modern tools, the heart of the dish remains the same.

The filling is a rich and savory combination of ground pork and shrimp, cooked with garlic and shallots, then enriched with coconut milk for a creamy finish.

Ingredients for the Filling

Shrimp for the filling

• 300g Ground pork

• 10 Shrimp peeled tails removed (use more shrimp if you prefer a seafood-forward flavor)

• 2 Garlic, chopped

• 2 Shallots, chopped

• 1 stalk Green onions, chopped

• 1/2 can Coconut milk (remaining half can)

• 1 tbsp Cornstarch

• 1 tsp Fish sauce

• 1/2 tsp Ground black pepper

• MSG (optional) or chicken stock powder

Filling: ground pork and shrimp and coconut milk

Instructions

1. Wash the shrimp thoroughly with salt several times, then rinse clean. Chop into small pieces.

2. Chop the garlic, shallots, and green onions.

3. Heat a skillet over medium heat and sauté the shallots and garlic until fragrant.

4. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking it into small pieces.

5. Add the shrimp and cook until just done.

6. Remove from heat. Stir in a small amount of cornstarch and the remaining coconut milk (about half the can used earlier). This creates a creamy texture.

7. Season with fish sauce, ground black pepper, and MSG if desired.

8. Stir in chopped green onions last.

Set aside. The filling is now ready.

How to Cook Bánh Khọt (Vietnamese Mini Pancakes)

1. Heat a Bánh Khọt pan or small pancake pan over medium heat.

2. Add a small amount of oil into each mold.

3. Pour a spoonful of batter into each cavity.

4. Add a spoonful of filling on top.

5. Cook until the edges begin to set and turn golden.

6. Cover with a lid to help cook the top evenly.

7. Continue cooking until the bottom is crispy and golden brown.

The result should be crispy on the outside, tender and creamy inside — a perfect balance of flavors and textures.

How to Serve Bánh Khọt

Serve hot with:

• Fresh lettuce

• Assorted Vietnamese herbs

• Pickled vegetables (optional)

• A light dipping sauce (nuoc cham)

Each bite should be wrapped in lettuce and herbs, dipped into sauce, and enjoyed immediately.Everyone has mother’s favorite food I can’t get enough of my mother’s delicious pancake, her recipe is the best.

Cover the other pancake and turning the pancake to golden and crunchy .