All Recipes

Crispy Sweet Potato Pancake Lettuce Wraps

Crispy Sweet Potato Pancake Lettuce Wraps
  • Category

    Dessert

  • Cusine

    Vietnamese

Ingredients

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1/4 cup warm water, or as needed

1 teaspoon unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar

1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 Thai or serrano chile, thinly sliced

1 garlic clove, minced

3 cups

1 cup

Rounded 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 tablespoons lightly packed, finely chopped green onion

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3 tablespoons white or brown rice flour, such as Bob’s Red Mill

1 large egg

About 1/3 cup canola or other neutral oil

Leaves from 1 head of soft-leaf lettuce, such as butter, Boston, or red leaf

6 to 8 bushy sprigs mint, basil, or other soft leaf herbs

10 to 12 sprigs cilantro

Directions

Combine 1 tablespoon of the sugar, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lime juice, and the water. Taste the limeade, and if needed, add the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar and/or 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice; dilute with water if you go too far. If there’s an unpleasant tart-bitter edge, add the vinegar to rounds things out. Finally, add the fish sauce to create a bold, forward finish. If desired, add the chiles and/or garlic. Set aside. You should have 1/2 cup of nuoc cham, and this can be made and refrigerated up to 8 hours before serving.

In a large bowl, combine the grated sweet potato, carrot, and salt. Massage with both hands until wet and squishy, about 1 minute. Transfer the grated veggies to a piece of muslin or a non-terry dish towel, and wrap the veggies in the towel. Standing over the sink, firmly squeeze and twist to expel moisture. Dump the veggies into a dry bowl.

Add the green onion, mixing with a fork to distribute well. Mix in the pepper, fish sauce, cornstarch, and rice flour. Add the egg, break it up with a fork, and mix well. Press the mixture down to compact it, and then divide into 8 portions like a pie, using a 1/4 cup measuring scoop.

Warm a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, then add about 2 tablespoons of oil to film the bottom. Fry in two batches, 4 pancakes at a time. For each one, use a fork and your fingers to scoop up the 1/4 cup portions of the potato-and-carrot mixture . Deposit into the skillet, spreading and flattening the mixture with the measuring cup bottom and fork to make a 3 1/2-inch-wide pancake . Fry for about 3 minutes, until bits of the fringe-like edges are richly brown and crisp. Drizzle 2 to 3 teaspoons of oil on top of the pancakes, then wield 2 spatulas to carefully flip each one over. Fry for about 3 minutes longer, until crisp and brown underneath. Cool on a rack. Fry the remaining batch.

Serve with the lettuce, herbs, and sauce. Invite guests to build their own lettuce leaf wraps containing a piece of pancake , with 2 or 3 herb leaves and/or torn cilantro sprigs. Dip in the sauce and eat. These are really best the day they are made.