Name: Caramel Shrimp with Black Pepper and Garlic
Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings as part of a multi-dish meal
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 1 lb. (454 g.) Medium shrimp, split down back and deveined with shell on; ¼ cup Chopped scallions; 2 tbsp. Water; 3 tbsp. Vietnamese Caramel Sauce; ¼ tsp. Coarsely Ground black pepper; 2 tbsp. Fish sauce (nước mắm); 2 tsp. Granulated sugar; 2 cloves Garlic, minced; 1 Thai Bird Chili, minced; ¼ lb. (113 g.) Pork belly or shoulder, small bite-size slices, about ⅛ inch (0.3 cm.) thick

Preparation info

Makes
4 to 6
servings as part of a multi-dish meal

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Southeast Asian Flavors

By Robert Danhi

Published 2008

About

Kho, a term used for stews flavored with the deep brown caramel sauce acquires an alluring color from that cooked sugar sauce. Although such stews are often prepared with river fish, or pork, I prefer shrimp.

Cẩm Vân Nguyễn, a Vietnamese celebrity chef, spent a day with me in her newly built cooking school in Saigon, teaching me recipes. This was one of them. In preparation for our lessons, her charming son Khải took me on the back of