Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp, or Tom Rim, is a quick and easy side dish in a traditional Vietnamese home-cooked meal.
It’s a very simple dish of sweet and savory shrimp that goes wonderfully with steamed white rice.
You can choose to cook this dish with a bit of sauce or vaporize the sauce completely to allow the caramelization to really adhere to the shrimp. I prefer the latter as I think it provides the best flavor. I also like to let the caramelization go a bit further for a bit of charring on the outside. Nom!
The traditional way to make this dish is to use small shrimp (size 51-60) with shell and tail on. The shell and tail provides a nice crunch once caramelized. Sometimes I like to keep the head on so that the head fat can render into the sauce for a beautiful orange color.
When it comes to eating, I’d separate the head from the body and suck on the head fat. It’s not the glamorous way to eat shrimp but it sure is tasty!
You may find that similar recipes call for annatto seed oil to brighten up the dish with a vibrant red color. For me, I forego annatto seed oil. I simply cook the shrimp a tad bit more for the sugar in the marinade to caramelize and darken. It saves me an extra pan to wash and I still get the same beautiful color.
I always say never to overcook your seafood. Overcooking squid, octopus, clams, shrimp and other seafood always result in a rubbery and chewy texture.
But…
This dish is an example of where I don’t mind overcooking. In fact, you want to overcook the shrimp.
The shrimp in this dish isn’t meant to be succulent. It’s a crunchy vehicle for that awesome sweet and savory caramelized sauce.
So save your money and buy the inexpensive small shrimp.
Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp (Tôm Rim)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Short on time but craving a traditional Vietnamese side? Try this caramelized shrimp with a sweet and salty fish-sauce glaze. It’s quick, delicious, and perfect with steamed white rice.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs small shrimp (size 91+, shell and tail-on preferred)
- 1 teaspoon salt (for cleaning)
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon chicken or mushroom bouillon powder
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (divided)
- 1/2 teaspoon MSG (optional)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic (about 5 large cloves)
- 3 tablespoons minced shallot (1 small shallot)
- 2 tablespoons oil (see notes below)
- 1 green onion (optional; thinly slice and separate whites/greens)
Instructions
- Devein the Shrimp: Use a toothpick to devein the shrimp. Insert the toothpick underneath the vein, between the shell, and gently lift the vein out.
- Clean the Shrimp: Place the shrimp in a medium bowl with salt (1 teaspoon). Massage the salt into the shrimp to clean them and remove any fishy smell. Rinse thoroughly and drain dry.
- Marinate: In a bowl, combine the shrimp with fish sauce, bouillon powder, sugar, ground black pepper (half), MSG (if using), half of the minced garlic, and half of the minced shallots. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Cook: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add remaining garlic, remining shallots, and whites of green onions. Sauté until fragrant (about 15 seconds). Add the shrimp and all its marinade juices. Stir to coat the shrimp with the aromatics. Cover the skillet and cook on a medium simmer for about 2 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking on medium heat until most of the liquid has evaporated and the peel gets shiny and crispy (about 8 minutes).
- Garnish and Serve: Garnish the shrimp with remaining green onions (the green part) and remaining half of ground black pepper. Serve with steamed rice for a complete meal.
Notes
You can use annatto oil or a neutral oil such as vegetable oil, or the oil from jarred and canned crab paste, which is typically used for western-style version of Bun Rieu.
You can also use baby shrimp with heads to utilize their head fat to provide the color.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese
