Vietnamese-Style Caramel Shrimp
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Large shrimp are quickly sautéed with garlic and onions and then simmered in a short-cut Vietnamese caramel sauce.
This caramel shrimp recipe was sent to me by one of my readers from San Diego (thank you, Kim!), and I knew right away it was going to be a winner. Large shrimp are quickly sautéed with garlic and onions, then simmered in a Vietnamese-style caramel sauce. Every time I make it, my family literally scrapes the pan clean!
This recipe is a simplified take on traditional Tôm Rim, a classic Vietnamese dish where shrimp are simmered in a deeply caramelized sugar sauce. While the original requires caramelizing sugar to a rich amber hue, this version takes a shortcut by whisking brown sugar into the fish sauce, water, and aromatics, making it quicker but still delicious. The sauce is thinner and less bitter than the traditional method, but it retains the sweet and savory balance that makes this dish so irresistible.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Vietnamese Caramel Shrimp
The key ingredient in this recipe is fish sauce, a dark and pungent liquid used in Southeast Asian cooking. It adds wonderful depth and complexity to a dish. You can find it at most large grocery stores, and don’t worry about buying a large bottle—it keeps forever in the pantry.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by whisking together the fish sauce, brown sugar, crushed red pepper flakes and water in a bowl and set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan and cook the onions over medium-low heat until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and cook a few minutes more.
Add the shrimp to the pan and cook until just pink and still translucent in some spots.
Add the sauce and simmer until the shrimp are cooked through.
Add the scallions and cilantro.
Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasoning as necessary. The dish is intensely flavorful, so it goes best with steamed jasmine rice. Enjoy!
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Large shrimp are quickly sautéed with garlic and onions and then simmered in a short-cut Vietnamese caramel sauce.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 pounds extra large shrimp, peeled and deveined, thawed if frozen
- 3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
- Combine the fish sauce, dark brown sugar, crushed red pepper flakes and water in a medium bowl and whisk until brown sugar is dissolved.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes more. Do not brown.
- Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the shrimp. Cook, stirring frequently, 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. (Note: the sauce will be thin.) Off the heat, stir in scallions and cilantro. Serve immediately with jasmine rice.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 219
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Sugar: 4 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 22 g
- Sodium: 1789 mg
- Cholesterol: 191 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Made this recipe for dinner last night with jasmine rice and it was excellent. Even my 5 year old loved it. Thank you!
Hi Jenn, love your blog. This was the first recipe that was just “ok” for me. I followed your instructions and measurements to a T even using the same brand of fish sauce but mine came out quite salty. The saltiness overshadowed the brown sugar and other flavors, so for me I think I am going to cut the fish sauce by one tablespoon and add an additional teaspoon of sugar. That said, you have fantastic recipes and a great site but for me this one was a bit too savory. Best wishes, Joanne
Hi Joanne, Thank you for your comment. I’m so sorry you found the dish to be too salty. That’s the first I’ve heard that about this particular dish so I’m scratching my head a bit. Do you remember what type/brand of shrimp you used? I did a little research and found this article on why some shrimp are saltier than others, and was actually really surprised at the range of sodium levels for different types of shrimp (97mg for fresh Gulf shrimp to 730mg for easy peel farm raised shrimp).
http://www.cookinglight.com/eating-smart/nutrition-101/salt-in-foods/salt-supermarket
Hi Jenn,
Thanks for responding! I used the Kirkland Signature Raw Tail-On shrimp from Costco, which has 280 mg of sodium per 4 oz. Perhaps that contributed? I haven’t noticed any saltiness before. Food for thought…
Hi Joanne, That brand has a bit more sodium than the one I use but I don’t think enough to make a big difference. Oh well! If you try it again, you can always cut back on the fish sauce or add more sugar to balance it out, as you mentioned above. Thank you for the feedback.
I made this last night and it was interesting as I thought it tasted salty, but I like salt, and my husband and kids tasted sweet and not salty at all. Genetically speaking, I wonder if our taste buds are the reason some people taste salt and others taste the sweetness. I thought it was fascinating how our tastes were so different last night. I don’t remember ever having a dish like this where we were on opposite ends of the salty-sweet spectrum.
Made this a few moments ago, it was fantastic! i served with fried rice and steamed vegetable dumplings
I made these last night. I used a combination of prawns and jumbo shrimp, just put the prawns in first, let them cook for about one minute then added the shrimp. Took it to a party and it was a total hit!
Great recipe – even better cold as part of a summer salads meal. Thanks!
Have made this a few times and always a hit – we have even added broccoli- yum! And, yes, equally delicious 2nd day straight out of the fridge!
Awesome, Thank you Kim for sharing and you too Jenn for posting! Very quick and easy to prepare.
I don’t think I’ll ever be able to overcome the worlds love of sugar. But I made this w/o the brown sugar, going against Asian grain of something sweet, salty, and hot and enjoyed it much more. The recipe has a great balance of all the other flavors.
This is one of my favorite recipes on the site.
It’s an honest, clean & simple meal. I follow it exactly as it’s so easy and the ingredient list is not lengthy.
I use the frozen tailed and shelled shrimp from the freezer section and just thaw – so it’s even easier.
I tend to have extra bags of shrimp in the freezer, so if I’m at a loss of what to make for dinner, this is a go-to as I normally have all the ingredients!
We really enjoy trying new recipes, especially ethnic recipes. Can sometimes be intimidating using ingredients that are unfamiliar, like fish sauce, but the end result is usually so rewarding! This is one of those very rewarding recipes :o)