Cooking in

Langford · Greater Victoria

Nearest city · Victoria Change

Thai · Central Thai

Khanom Buang — Thai Crispy Crêpes / ขนมเบื้อง

Khanom buang are Thai crêpes made from a fermented rice flour batter cooked on a small domed iron griddle into wafer-thin, crispy shells, then folded and filled with either sweet or savoury fillings while still warm. The savoury version (khanom buang Thai) is filled with a coconut-shrimp mixture and meringue-like egg white foam; the sweet version with sweetened coconut cream and golden threads (foi thong). The batter requires fermentation overnight — the fermentation develops the slight sourness that balances the sweet or savoury fillings and creates the characteristic thin, lacy texture. The griddle must be dry and maintained at a precise temperature — too hot and the batter burns before setting, too cool and the crêpe steams rather than crisps.

‹Swipe for the next dish›

ServesAbout 20 crêpes

Within reach1of 4 in Langford

One shipped · one elsewhere in British Columbia · two not yet within reach.

How the 4 are reached

Shipped to you: 1 · rice flour
Elsewhere in British Columbia: 1 · coconut, freshly grated
Not yet within reach: 2 · coconut cream, foi thong (golden egg threads)

Cook

‹ Previous · Khai Pa Lo (Braised Eggs and Pork in Five-Spice)|Next · Khanom Chin Nam Ya (Rice Noodles with Fish Curry Sauce) ›

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

For the batter

250 g

rice flour

Origin · ThailandShipped to you · Wismettac →

500 ml

water

for fermentation

Your own market

For the savoury filling (khanom buang Thai)

150 g

dried shrimp or fresh shrimp

finely processed

Your own market

150 g

coconut, freshly grated

Origin · Sri LankaElsewhere in British Columbia · Sechelt Farmers' & Artisans' Market (Sat) →

For the egg white topping

egg whites

whipped to firm peaks

Your own market

For the sweet filling

200 ml

coconut cream

sweetened

Not yet within reach of Langford · each reach is counted

100 g

foi thong (golden egg threads)

prepared separately

Not yet within reach of Langford · each reach is counted

Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.

The larder of Langford →

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

The Method

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

From the canon — Foi thong (golden threads) is one of five Portuguese-influenced Thai egg sweets introduced to the Siamese court in the 17th century, attributed to Marie Guim… Foi Thong — Golden Egg Threads / ฝอยทอง →

Transfer at once to a serving tray. The finished crêpe should yield a clean, audible snap when broken — the sign of correct crispness throughout.

III

Quality Hierarchy

Reserve — Batter fermented a full night from stone-milled jasmine rice flour; freshly grated coconut pressed the same morning; foi thong drawn from free-range egg yolks; the crêpe finished on a traditional domed iron griddle over charcoal.

Estate — Good-quality rice flour fermented overnight; fresh coconut; commercially prepared foi thong of reliable provenance; gas flame with a small domed griddle.

Market — Standard rice flour fermented overnight — fermentation is non-negotiable regardless of flour grade; desiccated coconut reconstituted with coconut cream; purchased foi thong.

House — Standard rice flour, batter fermented at minimum overnight; the savoury filling simplified to grated coconut alone; egg white topping from carton whites whipped to firm peaks.

Sensory Tests

◇Smell. Fermented batter carries a faint, clean sourness after overnight rest — the signal that texture and flavour development are complete.

◇Sight. Batter spread on the hot dry griddle sets and dries at the edges within moments, appearing lacy and translucent rather than thick and pale.

◇Touch. The crêpe folds without cracking when warm; it must be filled and folded before it cools and becomes brittle.

◇Sound. The finished, cooled crêpe yields a clean snap when broken — confirmation of correct dry-crispy texture throughout.

◇Where it lives or dies. The batter must be spread in a single fast, thin motion on a dry, very hot griddle — a slow or thick pour produces a chewy shell and no subsequent step can recover it.

Pillar V

Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.

The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.

Enter · from $49 a year