Long before I knew about Chinese American egg foo yong, I was dipping these tasty pancakes in fish sauce and soy sauce and enjoying them with hot rice. When my mother was short of time, she would prepare a couple of plates full of these yellow, pink, and green pancakes for dinner. They are incredibly easy to whip up and yet taste fancy. The edges get fluffy and crispy from frying in a liberal amount of oil, and each rich bite contains a bit of tasty shrimp. I don’t devein the shrimp for these pancakes because I have found that it leaves unattractive lumps. But if you prefer to devein them, do so.

　　

Ingredients

serves 4 to 6 with 2 or 3 other dishes

　　1 pound medium shrimp, peeled

　　Salt

　　5 eggs, beaten

　　2 scallions, white and green parts, chopped

　　Canola or other neutral oil for frying

　　Fish sauce or light (regular) soy sauce for serving

　　

Step 1

Refresh the shrimp by putting them in a colander and tossing them with a liberal amount of salt. Rinse immediately under cold water and press gently to drain well. Put the shrimp in a bowl, add the eggs and scallions, and mix well.

　　

Step 2

Put enough oil into a large nonstick skillet to coat the bottom thinly. Place over medium heat and heat until a drop of egg immediately sizzles and bubbles upon contact with the oil. To make each pancake, ladle about 2 tablespoons of the egg mixture into the skillet, making sure that a few shrimp are included in each portion, and then quickly nudge the shrimp in each pool of egg so they don’t overlap. Fry only as many pancakes at once as will fit without crowding, about 3 pancakes at a time in a 12-inch skillet. Don’t worry about the shape each one takes, as they are meant to be free-form. When the edges of a pancake are set and lightly browned, after about 2 minutes, use a spatula to turn it carefully. (If the pancakes have stuck together, use the spatula to separate them before flipping.) Fry for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until browned on the second side. Transfer the finished pancakes to a plate and keep warm while you fry the rest.

　　

Step 3

Arrange the pancakes on 2 plates or a platter and serve with the fish sauce for dipping.

　　Reprinted with permission from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Copyright © 2006.  Photographs by Leigh Beisch. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.