Learn the differences between two popular Vietnamese dishes: Banh Khot and Banh Xeo. While the batter of both dishes may be the same, there are some slight differences that distinguish each dish from one another.

Banh Khot and Banh Xeo are delicious savory pancakes that have batters that are flash fried into a sizzling, crispy perfection on the outside, but melty, delicious, fluffy stuffing in the inside. The batters of both dishes are often made with a combination of rice flour, turmeric, corn starch, and coconut cream. Banh Khot has shrimp and prawn as the protein. Banh Xeo incorporates not only shrimp, but also pork and a few additional vegetables.

If you are wanting to compare the differences between Banh Khot and Banh Xeo, I'm going to share with you the main differences. Whatever dish you choose to eat or make, you can't go wrong.

Comparing the Differences Between Banh Khot and Banh Xeo

Banh Khot and Banh Xeo share a very similar batter made with mostly rice flour, coconut milk, and turmeric which gives both dishes a beautiful yellow tinge that is mixed together with coconut milk for the texture of the crepe. Banh Khot are mini cakes that are cooked in a cast iron pan and generally topped with green onion, shrimp, and additional coconut cream. Banh Xeo is a thinner, but larger sized crepe that is stuffed with mung bean sprouts, shrimp, slices of pork belly, shallots, onions, and green onions. Both dishes are served with a large accompaniment of fresh lettuce, herbs, and Vietnamese fish sauce called nuoc mam.

All About Banh Xeo

Banh Xeo are large, yellow rice pancakes that include pork slices, shrimp, mung bean sprouts, shallots, and onion that are folded into an omelette shaped dish.

What Does Banh Xeo Taste Like

Banh Xeo sizzles when it's cooked, allowing for the batter for this savory pancake to crisp for that slight crunch. The pancake is filled like an omlette with slices of pork belly, mung bean sprouts, whole shrimp, and green onions. 

How do you eat Banh Xeo?

Banh Xeo is served with an accompaniment of fresh vegetables. Using your hands, you tear off a piece of Banh Xeo, wrap it inside a lettuce leave, and dip it into nuoc mam cham sauce.

How is Banh Xeo cooked?

Banh Xeo is cooked on a pan that is heated with vegetable oil. It's cooked over a stove top.

What are the ingredients in Banh Xeo?

For the batter, Banh Xeo uses the same batter as Banh Khot generally. There may be slight variations from families as ingredients get passed down. Generally, the ingredients for the batter include rice flour, turmeric, and coconut milk. for the filling, Banh Xeo uses shallots, onion, green onion, pork belly, and shrimp.

Check out my easy Banh Xeo shortcut recipe to make your own right at home.

All About Banh Khot

Banh Khot are small, yellow rice pancakes that are shaped into small, shallow cups that are made from rice flour and coconut milk batter. Inside of banh khot, chopped green onions, garlic, shrimp, and mung beans create the filliings for this delicious dish.

What Does Banh Khot Taste Like

Banh Khot is a savory, fried batter that has a slight coconut texture that is often topped with shrimp and green onion. They are often topped with toasted minced dried prawns, which provides an extra level of texture and flavor.

How is Banh Khot cooked?

Banh Khot is generally cooked using an octopus pan that has multiple, small circular cooking sections for each pancake.

How is Banh Khot served?

The way that Banh Khot is generally eaten is wrapping it around a lettuce leaf. Take a wide lettuce leaf, hold it in your plam, then take a mini Banh Khot and place it in the center. Layer it with herbs like mint and basil, wrap it into a spring roll shape. Next dip it into nuoc mam cham and put it in your mouth.

What are some variations of Banh Khot?

From region to region, there are small variations in the batter. Some include different ratios of the rice flour and turmeric. 

What are the ingredients in Banh Khot batter?

Banh Khot batter can be made using rice flour, corn starch, coconut milk, and salt.

Frequently Asked Questions About Banh Xeo versus Banh Khot

What taste better, Banh Xeo or Banh Khot?

Banh Khot provides a personalized and individual experience due to the miniature cups with the individual shrimp. Banh Khot is more popular than Banh Xeo from a taste perspective.

What is healthier, Banh Xeo or Banh Khot?

Banh Khot has 55 calories per cake serving. Banh Xeo has approximately 355 calories per crepe serving.

Summary of Differences Between Banh Khot and Banh Xeo

Depending on how much you eat, Banh Khot can be either a snack or a full meal. Banh Xeo is generally thought of as a full meal. Whether you are eating a bite-sized pancake or a mega pancake omelette stuffed to the brim with pork belly and shrimp, the contrasting textures and flavors in both dishes make them both a dish you'll want to try at least one more time.

Other Posts You Might Like

If you liked this post on the differences between Banh Khot and Banh Xeo, check out some of the other posts I've done to compare different ingredients and dishes that you might like:

• Difference between Vietnamese Pho and Laotian Pho
• Bun Noodles versus Pho Noodles
• Difference between Vietnamese Iced Coffee and Thai Iced Coffee
• Banh Xeo Batter from Scratch