Shrimp is one of my favorite weeknight proteins, because it cooks so quickly. Vietnamese braised shrimp in roe, or tôm kho tàu, is on rotation a lot in my household. Using shrimp with the heads on along with the Pantai shrimp paste makes this quick and easy dish taste so rich and succulent without much effort.
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The heads of the shrimp are critical to this dish. The bright orange roe inside of the heads is what gives the sauce its bright orange color rich, savory flavor. Buy the largest shrimp you can afford, with the heads on.
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Ingredients
I cheat a bit and use a generous spoonful of shrimp paste in soybean oil to give my sauce a boost. It gives an extra shrimpy, garlicky flavor to the dish. You could skip it entirely if you can't find it, but I highly recommend keeping a jar on hand. I also like to add it to stir fries and fried rices.
You will need:
- shrimp with the heads on
- Pantai brand shrimp paste with soybean oil
- Salt and pepper
- Fish sauce
- Garlic
- Shallot
- Cooking oil
- Scallions for garnish
See recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Use kitchen shears to trim the legs and whiskers off of the shrimp. Devein them, and use your hands to take the heads off and scoop the orange insides into a separate bowl.
Add fish sauce, half of the minced garlic and shallot, salt, pepper and Pantai shrimp paste to your shrimp and mix together until everything is well incorporated. Let the shrimp marinate for 15 minutes.
Heat cooking oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the leftover minced garlic and shallot and cook until browned.
Add the marinated shrimp and stir until the shrimp is halfway cooked. The shrimp should be starting to turn orange, but will still be gray and translucent in some parts.
Add the roe from inside of the shrimp heads to the pan.
Continue to cook the shrimp until they are completely orange and no longer translucent.
Hint: leave the heads on half of the shrimp if you want them to look prettier. You can peel the shrimp for easier eating, but I left the shells on for a prettier presentation.
💭 Substitutions
If you can't find large, head on shrimp, you can use regular peeled shrimp. Add more of the Pantai shrimp paste to compensate for the lack of shrimp roe. It won't taste exactly the same, but it'll be close.
🍳 Equipment
You can use any pan for this recipe. I used my stainless steel pan, but a nonstick one would work too. Make sure to only heat your oven to medium if using a nonstick pan.
I find it easiest to devein shrimp with a good pair of kitchen scissors. Cut a line down the back of the shrimp to expose the dark vein and pull it out. The scissors also make it easy to trim the feet and tip of the head off of the shrimp.
🍚 Serving suggestions
This braised shrimp dish tastes best with a hot bowl of white rice! Tôm kho tàu is a pretty common dish in a Vietnamese family meal. The family meal usually consists of four elements: rice (cơm), a vegetable dish (rau), a main protein, (món mặn), and a soup (canh).
For example, a Vietnamese family meal using recipes from this blog might include:
- Rice
- Rau: Grilled Eggplant With Scallion Oil (Cà Tím Nướng Mỡ Hành)
- Món Mặn: Vietnamese Braised Shrimp In Roe (Tôm Kho Tàu)
- Canh: Crock Pot Pork Spare Rib Soup With Potatoes and Carrots (Canh Sườn Khoai Tây Cà Rốt)
✏️ Top tips
- Find the largest shrimp with the heads on that you can get your hands on. The delicious orange roe inside of the shrimp heads is really essential to the dish. The more of it you have, the better it will taste.
- You can peel the shrimp if you want them to be easier to eat. I left the shells on for pa prettier presentation.
- For a prettier presentation, you can keep the heads on the shrimp. I chose to do this with half of the shrimp. Taking the heads off and emptying the orange roe to make the sauce results in a more flavorful sauce vs. leaving the roe inside the heads.
👪 Serving Size
One pound of shrimp will comfortably serve four people.
📋 Recipe
Vietnamese Braised Shrimp In Roe (Tôm Kho Tàu)
Ingredients
- 1 lb shrimp heads on
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 shallot minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon Pantai shrimp paste in soya bean oil
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 scallion optional
Instructions
- Use kitchen shears to trim the legs and whiskers off of the shrimp. Devein them, and use your hands to take the heads off and scoop the orange roe from inside the head into a separate bowl.
- Add fish sauce, half of the minced garlic and shallot, salt, pepper and Pantai shrimp paste to your shrimp and mix together until everything is well incorporated. Let the shrimp marinate for 15 minutes.
- Heat the cooking oil on medium heat in a heavy bottomed pan. Add the leftover minced garlic and shallot and cook until browned, about 5 min.
- Add the marinated shrimp and stir until the shrimp is halfway cooked. The shrimp should be starting to turn orange, but will still be gray and translucent in some parts, about 5 min.
- Add the reserved shrimp roe from inside of the shrimp heads to the pan.
- Continue to cook the shrimp until they are completely orange and no longer translucent, about 5 more min.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: Calorie count and nutrition information are an estimate only.
🦺 Food safety
- Fish and shellfish should be cooked to a minimum temperature of 145 °F (63 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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