Tôm Kho Đánh

Tasty Braised Shrimp


18-20 raw head-on shrimps (36-40 count)
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 green onion, chopped
1 T vegetable oil
1/2 T fish sauce, 1 t sugar, salt, pepper

Count means the approximate number of shrimp per pound, 36-40 count means that there are 36-40 shrimps per pound.

Most Americans probably have never seen shrimp with head on. But, head-on shrimp has much more flavor than shrimp without its head, just like the difference between fish on bone and fish fillet. In this dish, shrimps are cooked in their own butter to make a special tasty sauce so we need to leave that part on.

Remove head shell: Hold the shrimp body in one hand, and the head in the other. Squeeze the tip of the head to twist up the head shell. That will leave the orange butter on the ten-legs part.

Remove the body shell and the sand-vein:

Hold the tail while gently removing the shell around the body. Remove the tail. There are couple ways to remove the sand vein:
- Making a shallow cut lengthwise down the outer curve of the shrimp's body. Remove vein with your fingers.
- Use a toothpick to poke and pick the vein out from the shrimp's back without making a slit.
-Pinch at tail end and pull out with fingers.

Remove 10-legs part: Hold the shrimp body in one hand and gently squeeze off the 10-legs part with the other hand without taking off much of the orange stuffs.

Put shrimps on a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper.

In a medium sauce pan, heat oil, add shallot and garlic to cook until fragant, add shrimps, stir well. Add fish sauce and sugar and let the shrimp braised in its own sauce for 5 minutes. Add green onion and fresh ground pepper. Serve with steamed rice.