Sauteed King Prawns in Coconut Milk

Name: Sauteed King Prawns in Coconut Milk (Tôm Kho Nước Dừa)
Yield: Serves 4–6 as part of a Shared Meal
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 1 long red chilli, julienned; 1 spring onion (scallion), sliced on the diagonal; 250 ml (9 fl oz/1 cup) coconut milk; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 tablespoon caster (superfine) sugar; 2 red Asian shallots, finely chopped; 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic; 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) raw large tiger prawns (shrimp); 2 tablespoons fish sauce

Tôm Kho Nước Dừa

Preparation info

Serves
4–6
as part of a Shared Meal

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Songs of Sapa

By Luke Nguyen

Published 2009

About

I AM IN MY HALF BROTHER’S FISHING BOAT, CHUGGING THROUGH THE WATERS OF PHAN THIET. WE ANCHOR UNDER A BRIDGE FOR SOME SHADE AND COOL BREEZE. HE FIRES UP SOME COAL AND SAUTES SOME PRAWNS IN COCONUT MILK IN AN OLD WARPED PAN, ON THE EDGE OF HIS BOAT. WE SHARE HALF A DOZEN BEERS TOGETHER, MAKING SMALL TALK AND ENJOYING THE CALMING SEA.

Ingredients

500 g (1 lb 2 oz) raw large tiger prawns (shrimp)

Asia
Vietnam
Phan Thiet
Dinner
Fish course
Pescatarian
Southeast Asia
Gluten-free

Method

Peel only the body of the prawns, leaving the heads and tails intact, then devein them. In a small bowl, combine the fish sauce and sugar and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Divide the fish sauce mixture into two halves, and use one half of the mixture to marinate the prawns for 10 minutes.

Place a large frying pan over medium–high heat, add 1