Tom yam is always sooooooooo
a crepe-y fail and a birthday
The Birthday?
our fat little furry cat has turned 4. still as finicky as ever–we’ve had a helluva time finding canned food that he’ll actually eat up, instead of us scraping them off all dried up and shriveled from the bowl.
for now, it’s anything sliced, never ground, not pate, nothing minced! AND, Fancy Feast only.
fancy cat. 
HRH, Emperor BaoBao, Jack Bauer, Napoleon of Maine, and Massachusetts. fancy cat food for him, brownie, a la mode, for us (kid-suggested King Arthur Flour brownies + Breyer’s extra creamy vanilla ice cream).
and the crepe-y fail i am writing about, only to appeal to anyone out there, yoo hoo, help?!, with a friendly recipe for Saigon sizzling crepes (banh xeo). it is a savory crepe made of rice flour, turmeric, curry and coconut milk, filled with ground pork, mushrooms, shrimp and bean sprouts.
it’s just that the memory of the first bite i had, many many years ago, cooked by a co-teacher’s Vietnamese student, is so tugging at my heartstrings, and belly, that i long to replicate it at home.
mine was a complete and utter disaster, which my family courageously attempted to eat, out of pure love i think…i snatched away the platter after seeing their politeness dissolving into grimaces.
could it be because i used a bit of mung bean flour in the crepe batter? ( saw an online recipe which included steamed/mashed mung beans–it looked delicious!)
hmmm, i am retreating from this challenge for a while, and ordering a take-out portion from my friendly neighborhood pho place for now.
a successfully cooked crepe, and tips for its creation, is pictured here.
my #2son was very wary, suspicious, no! he was outright scared!– the next day when he saw me opening up the Vietnamese cookbooks once more.
“er… more Vietnamese experiments, mom??” 
February 3rd, 2010 at 12:45 am
we think you can do it–try again!
February 6th, 2010 at 5:04 am
Mamoo Stel, laki na ni Bao-Bao!
The banh xeo in the pic looks good; there’s always a next time for it, don’t fret.
I also posted a Valentine recipe you might like to try. It’s a
butter cake with a raspberry-infused choc ganache. 
February 12th, 2010 at 6:32 am
Happy Happy 4th, Prince Bao
ahh but knowing you, me knows you will succeed on the next attempt!
tita Telay, back na PR mo…2! yahoooooo!
March 6th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
good try… the batter looks too thick. perhaps spin the pan tilting until the batter stops running, like you do when your making crepes. another possible problem is that your using enough oil. don’t cook at a low heat like your making a pancake. it’s usually done at a relatively high heat. think. put in some oil, maybe a table spoon. then put in enough batter, and tilt the pan until all the batter is not running anymore. add more batter if needed to form a solid crepe. then tilt, add some more oil around the edges and loosen slightly… then add the other ingredients, then cover for a few minutes. then uncover and fold. if it doesn’t look crispy enough add a little more oil. i know it sounds somewhat oily, but that whats make the crispy, aside from the proper heat. try looking at videos on the net. i’m sure you will notice the quick movements and the later addition of oil as part of the process. GOOD LUCK!