Bánh xèo — the Vietnamese sizzling crepe — is a dish whose name is onomatopoeic: the sizzle of the rice batter hitting the hot oil is the dish announcing itself. Adrien Blech, who co-owns Orienta in Greenwich, Connecticut — a French restaurant with Southeast Asian influences — operates at exactly the intersection this dish requires: French technique, Southeast Asian flavor logic.
His batter was rice flour, coconut milk, and turmeric in a ratio that produced a crepe thin enough to crisp but sturdy enough to fold over the pork and bean sprout filling without cracking. He heated the pan to the point of smoke before pouring, ensuring immediate crisping rather than steaming, and covered it for the first ninety seconds to trap steam and cook the filling. The cover came off for the final minute to re-crisp the underside.
A French chef cooking Vietnamese food at his own restaurant in Greenwich is already operating at a specific remove from convention. Blech brought the sizzle to a kitchen it doesn't usually visit, and it held.
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