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1
Combine the rice flour with water and mix until a smooth, pourable batter forms, then cover and leave to ferment at room temperature overnight. The batter is ready when it carries a faint sourness on the nose and has loosened slightly in consistency — this acidity is what gives the finished crêpe its structural backbone and its clean, lightly tangy flavour. Do not rush the ferment; a batter that smells flat will produce a shell that tastes of little more than cooked starch.
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2
Heat a small domed iron griddle over direct flame until it is very hot. Apply no oil of any kind, so the starch in the batter can form its own release layer the moment it meets the dry iron — oil would prevent this bond from developing and the crêpe would slide, tear, or stew rather than crisp. The surface is ready when a drop of batter skitters and sets in under a second.
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3
This is where the dish lives or dies: pour a small measure of fermented batter onto the centre of the griddle and spread it immediately in a single thin, quick motion to the edges of the dome, because a slow or thick pour traps steam beneath the shell and produces a chewy, pale crêpe rather than the wafer-lacy crispness that defines khanom buang. Work in one confident pass — there is no correcting a second stroke. The surface should appear set and dry at the edges within moments.
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4
While the crêpe is still on the griddle and the surface is just set but the centre remains warm, pipe or spoon the egg white — whipped to firm peaks — across the inner surface, so the residual heat from the iron warms and anchors the foam in place without the need for further cooking. Spread it gently; pressing it flat will collapse the peaks and leave a dense, rubbery layer rather than a light, cloud-like one. The topping is correct when it holds its shape without weeping.
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5
Immediately add the chosen filling: for the savoury version, place the coconut-shrimp mixture onto the egg white; for the sweet version, spoon sweetened coconut cream and foi thong onto the surface. Fold the crêpe in half directly from the griddle while it is still pliable, so the shell bends cleanly rather than shattering — once cold, the shell becomes brittle and will crack on folding.
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6
Transfer at once to a serving tray. The finished crêpe should yield a clean, audible snap when broken — the sign of correct crispness throughout.