Vietnamese style coconut and turmeric omelettes

INTRODUCTION

These are much thinner than your average omelette – more like crepes, in fact, but without the flour. So, your gluten intolerant friends will love you and my children, who passed them by with a ‘meh’ the first time I made them, gobbled them up the second time

They are meant to be eaten like bánh xèo (Vietnamese pancakes), stuffing the herb salad into the omelettes and dipping the whole thing into the sauce, I added a dash of sugar when I made them again but you can also simply make the omelettes without the sauce and salad and serve with a squeeze of lime.

INGREDIENTS 

For the omelettes

• 90ml sunflower oil
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped (deseeded if you don’t like heat)
• 3 banana shallots, peeled and finely chopped (180g)
• 5g ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• Salt
• ¾ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 lime, grated to get 1 tsp zest, then cut into wedges to serve
• 6 eggs
• 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk (70% solids)

For the dipping sauce

• 1-2 pink grapefruits, juiced to get 80ml, plus 40g pulp
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1½ tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 red chillies, finely chopped (deseeded if you don’t like heat)
• ½ – 1 tsp sugar, optional

For the salad

• Baby spinach
• 3 spring onions, finely sliced into 5cm strips
• 10g mint leaves
• 10g coriander, picked leaves with some stem attached
• 70g beansprouts
• 60g daikon/kohlrabi/radishes, finely sliced / julienned

METHOD 

Prep 30 min
Cook 35 min
Makes 8

Avocado and shredded chicken are lovely optional extras to be served alongside

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a large, nonstick frying pan for which you have a lid, on a medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chillies, shallots, ginger and half a teaspoon of salt, and fry for eight to 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden. Leave to cool for a few minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk the turmeric, lime zest, eggs, coconut milk and half a teaspoon of salt until smooth and combined. Stir this through the cooled shallot mixture, then transfer to a measuring jug.

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce, including the pulp, with an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, then toss all the salad ingredients together.

Wipe the pan clean and return it to a high heat. Once very hot, add one and a half teaspoons of oil. Pour in about 100g of batter and swirl to coat most of the pan. Fry for a minute and a half, until the bottom is golden brown, then cover with the lid and continue to cook for another 20-30 seconds, or until the top is set. Transfer to a tray lined with baking paper and keep warm. Continue with the remaining oil and batter in the same way until you have eight omelettes.

Carefully arrange the omelettes on a large platter, browned side up – they may fold naturally. Serve hot with the salad, dipping sauce and lime wedges alongside.