Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp

“This recipe was my first try at a Vietnamese dish and I thought it was just delicious and so very easy to make. The fluffy, slightly sticky Jasmine rice soaks up this thin, delicious sauce delightfully. The scallions and cilantro give a nice little crunch and pretty color!”
– Carolyn

Prep time 30 minutes
Calories 430-650 per serving (including rice)
Servings 4-6

Ingredients

1/4 cup Fish sauce
2 Tablespoons Dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon crushed Red pepper flakes
1/2 cup Water
1/4 cup Vegetable oil
1 medium yellow Onion, finely chopped
5 cloves Garlic, minced or finely chopped
2 pounds extra large Shrimp, peeled and de-veined, or thawed, if frozen
3 Scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1/3 cup chopped fresh Cilantro, loosely packed
Jasmine Rice

Method

Combine fish sauce, dark brown sugar, crushed red pepper flakes and water in a small bowl and whisk until completely combined. Set aside.
Prepare and set aside each vegetable, individually. This recipe comes together quickly after vegetables are prepared.
At this point, start a pot of water boiling for the Jasmine rice. The recipe is on the package and is super simple.
Make at least two cups of dry rice while the rest of the recipe comes together. The rice cooks up pretty quickly. It would be ideal for the rice to be getting done as the shrimp are cooked or warmed.
Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes more. Do not brown garlic.
If using uncooked shrimp, turn up the heat to medium-high and add the uncooked shrimp. Cook, stirring often, until the shrimp are just barely pink and still translucent in spots, a few minutes.
Add the fish sauce mixture, turn heat down to medium and simmer until shrimp are cooked through, a few minutes more.
If using thawed, cooked shrimp, pour fish sauce over onion and garlic mixture and then add shrimp. At low temperature, allow shrimp to become warmed but not cooked further.
Take frying pan off the heat and sprinkle the sliced scallions and chopped cilantro over the top.
Plate this deliciousness over the fluffy Jasmine rice and enjoy!

Tips

I like to toast my pecans or walnuts in a recipe like this as they become more delicious.
Halved red grapes are beautiful and delicious, in addition to the apples, in this salad.
Adding some leftover rotisserie chicken makes this salad a great lunch.

If you try this recipe, let me know what you think by sending me an email. I would love to hear from you!