Vietnamese-Style Caramel Shrimp
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
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!
You May Also Like
Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp
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
Powered by 
- 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.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I never comment on recipes. But this recipe is comment worthy. Both my husband and I loved having this for dinner. It was easy to make and delicious just as written. Because it was a meal for the 2 of us, I just about halved the recipe. Loved the spices, texture and jasmine rice was perfect
I added some fresh lime juice and it really added a lot of flavor and zest…yum
Hi Jenn,
My husband is allergic to fish, so I can’t use the fish sauce. Can I just leave this ingredient out, or would you suggest a substitution?
Thank you so much! Love your recipes!
DW
Hi Doris, So glad you like the recipes! You could use soy sauce in place of the fish sauce. It won’t have that same authentic Vietnamese taste, but it will still be good. Please LMK how it turns out!
This recipe was easy to prepare so I was hoping to love it. I used the exact brands of ingredients pictured, but found that the fish sauce really overpowered the dish in both flavor & saltiness which didn’t go over well with my family. We wouldn’t make this one again.
I am glad you mentioned the overpowering fish sauce. Because of your comment I researched this and decided to make the recipe with only one teaspoon of fish sauce, and it was perfect.
This tastes like something I can’t believe I actually made!!
Thanks so much, my Most Favorite Internet Find Ever! Anytime I think about cooking, your website and cookbook are the first place I go. ♥️
♥️
Fantastic! Loved this easy stir fry.
Delicious and very easy! I actually caramelized onions and added them with the garlic after I sauteed the shrimp to get a little crust going – I then added the caramelized onions, garlic, and sauce. I served it with brown rice and a side green salad. My family loved it, and I loved it! Dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.
Thank you for such a beautiful dish! My husband and I enjoyed this on a hot summer’s evening in Australia!
We love all of your recipes and hope to see a second cookbook out soon!!
Oh my goodness Jenn. This was delectable. Not sure why I haven’t made this before but it will be going into my regular rotation because it was so, so good. I quartered the recipe and probably used too many shrimp (is there such a thing?) and definitely used a lot of onion which was caramelized perfection. Thank you for another keeper recipe; I am fat and happy right now 🙂
Hi. I made this yesterday, it was ok. I used all the ingredients exactly how tou had them . I even used the same fish sauce you used but it was way too salty. My husband couldn’t even eat it. Flavor was good just way too salty for us. I’m guessing it was that fish sauce. Thanks
The sauce has a great flavor. Previous reviews said it was salty so I shorted the fish sauce just a little. Also wanted the sauce to stick to the shrimp better so I added 1 tsp cornstarch to the sauce before adding it to the heat. I may add a little more next time. I think these are minor changes. The recipe is solid….as usual with Jen’s cooking.