Weekend Recipe: Crispy Vietnamese beef mince pancake:

Motherpedia: Can you give our readers some advice on how to spice up the mid week dinner? 

Jac and Shaz: Make sure to keep the pantry well stocked with all the basics.  Lots of Herbs, spices and base sauces like soy sauce, tomato paste, balsamic vinegar etc .  Keeping these on hand means you can jazz up any cut of beef in next to no time and know that you are giving the family a really nutritious, flavour packed midweek meal that contains 13 essential vitamins and minerals.  

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients
600g beef mince
2 tbsp of sunflower oil
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tsp of fish sauce
1 carrot, finely shredded
1 red capsicum, finely sliced
1 cup of bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1 cup of fresh mint leaves and sprigs

Pancake:
¾ cup of rice flour
¼ cup of coconut milk
1 cup of water
½ tsp of ground tumeric
½ tsp of salt

Dipping sauce:
3 tsp of lemon juice, plus wedges to serve
2 tsp of fish sauce
1 tbsp of water
2 tsp of caster sugar
½ long red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
1 clove of garlic, crushed

Method
1. For the pancake batter, in a medium bowl, mix rice flour, coconut milk, water, turmeric and salt and leave for 20 minutes to thicken slightly.

2. For the dipping sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and adjust to taste.

3. For the mince filling, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium to high heat and cook mince until brown. Add garlic and fish sauce and cook for 5 minutes or until cooked through. Season well with cracked black pepper.

4. Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a medium saucepan over high heat and when very hot add 1/3 cup of pancake batter and swirl immediately to coat the pan. Once set and starting to turn golden brown underneath, add ¼ of the mince, carrot, capsicum and bean sprouts. Fold edge over so filling is enclosed and use a large fish slice or spatula to transfer to a plate. Repeat.

5. Serve fresh mint and dipping sauce on the side with extra lemon wedges.

For more recipe inspiration to help you create delicious and healthy mid-week meals the whole family will enjoy, please visit betteronbeef.com.au.