Andrea Nguyen's Tom Kho

Indulge me a little, will you? I'm feeling spent. I've been blogging for 22 straight days and I kind of want to poke myself in the eye or cut off a few fingertips or something. I'm not sure that I have anything left to say. I might be all written out! I used to find it amusing that the two most important men in my life both objected to the gun seal taunting me in the upper left-hand corner. It was ironic! Aggressive, but ironic! Now I feel a whimper coming on whenever I see it. Aut blog aut mori! Well, mori is looking kind of nice today...

I know I took this upon myself, but self-pity can feel so gooood. And because my brain seems to have melted overnight, I'm keeping the rest of this short and sweet. Okay? Here goes.

A few weeks ago, I made Vietnamese shrimp for dinner. It wasn't very good. I made a deep, dark caramel sauce, then threw most of it away. The rest went into a pan with shrimp and fish sauce, and was brought to a boil before I added a sliced onion. Although the pan was almost completely dry, the shrimp and the onion dumped a lot of liquid so the dish ended up syrupy. We ate our shrimp with plain white rice and lots of lime juice squeezed over it all. After the long cooking time, the shrimp were kind of rubbery. They tasted peppery and a little bitter and like not much else. I wish I'd chosen a different recipe to try. I won't be making this again.

And with that, I'm off for Thanksgiving. Of course, it doesn't mean I'll be very far from all of you because, gulp, I'll be back here tomorrow. Hopefully writing in something other than monosyllables. In case you come to your senses and stop checking to see what new depths I've sunk to over the long weekend, have a restful holiday. And for those of you who continue to read, your silent (and not so) cheerleading is keeping me going. So, thank you!

Tom Kho (Shrimp and Onion Simmered in Caramel Sauce)
Serves 4

1 cup sugar
2 pounds medium or large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 scallions, thinly sliced
Cooked rice, for serving
1 lime, cut into wedges, for serving

1. Make caramel sauce. Choose a small, heavy saucepan and fill sink with enough cold water to come halfway up the sides of pan. Dry pan. Combine 1/4 cup water and the sugar in pan and heat to bubbling over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally with a metal spoon. After 2 minutes, stop stirring and let cook undisturbed. Bubbles will form over surface and mixture will become clear.

2. After about 15 minutes, mixture will begin to turn golden and then quickly darken; watch closely. When reddish on top and inky dark brown (like black coffee) underneath, quickly stop cooking by placing saucepan in cold water. Return saucepan to medium heat and stir until smooth. Pour into heatproof container such as a glass jar and let cool at least 10 minutes before using.

3. Place shrimp in colander and toss with 1 tablespoon salt. Rinse immediately with lots of cold water and drain well.

4. In medium pot, combine shrimp, 1/8 teaspoon salt, fish sauce and 3 tablespoons caramel sauce (remainder can be tightly covered and refrigerated indefinitely) and bring to a simmer over high heat. Add onion and pepper, stir, and boil uncovered 10 to 14 minutes more, until sauce is thick. Shrimp and onions will give off lots of liquid; cook at a strong boil to concentrate flavors (add a little water if sauce seems to thicken too quickly).

5. Turn off heat, stir in oil, and taste for salt and pepper. Transfer to serving bowl, scatter with scallions, and serve over plain rice, with lime wedges.

Comments

[Jessika]

Well dear, as far as I'm concerned you can blog two sentences about your day being sucky and that you turned your attention to a carton of Ben & Jerrys or what brand of icecream you prefer. After 22 days of continuous blogging I certainly understand that you feel exhausted.
Hang in there!! We need you fresh for December, all those Basler Leckerli, fruitcakes, lebkuchen, etc., ;)

[Melissa]

No, thank you! I'm certainly cheering you on, since after all, I need something to read over the next few days to distract me from the fact that I'm slaving away at my desk instead of stuffing my face with good food...

Happy Thanksgiving :)

[David]

you're like a shark who can't stop moving

[One Food Guy]

You say the shrimp didn't taste good, but the picture you posted certainly makes them look good! Nice job on the photograph. Happy Thanksgiving!

[Maya]

This reminds me of a caramelized fish in a clay pot we used to get at a restaurant called Bao on 2nd Ave btwn 22nd and 23rd. We loved that dish so much... This might be a close recipe. I'll try tweaking it and maybe surprise the husband!

And keep going, Luisa! The end is in sight! You have done such an amazing job!

[Tanna]

I can appreciate you getting a little stretched out on this but I'm loving every word, even only two. The gun thing could be a little strong.
Yes, the shrimp photo is stunning how sad it didn't have the same taste.
Cheer, cheer!!

[denise]

this is not the correct way to make vietnamese tom kho. it does not involve lime, scallions, or onions. you also do not peel the shrimp, that is how you got the rubbery taste.

[New Wife= New Chef]

I'm Vietnamese and was looking for a quick "tom kho" recipe, found this one, and made it before reading the comments printed BEFORE the recipe. Silly me. Made the whole thing, then went back to explore your sight, then then your writing. Yes, bitter, overcooked shrimp. Darn.

[Kim]

Oh NO! The main reason your tom kho turned out weird is probably because you made the nuoc mau (the caramel sauce) without a finishing addition of water.

Make it exactly as above, but with 3/4 water total. Put the 1 cup sugar in with 1/4 cup water, cook as you described, then cool after it's the right color (all like your recipe says). After that, though, mix in AN ADDITIONAL 1/2 cup of water and stir over medium heat until smooth.

No wonder it tasted burnt ^_^ without the extra water at the end, that nuoc mau must have been way overpowering in the dish.

And to Maya, you can use the nuoc mau (the extra water version!) to make ca kho to (clay pot fish):

vegetable oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 pound fish (I use catfish)
4 tbsp caramel sauce
3 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup water

Saute the garlic in the oil and add the fish for 2 mins, then turn the fish for another 2 mins (just to cook the outside a little on each side). Add the nuoc kho and the nuoc mam and cook until it gets really thick. Then add the water and cook more -- again, until the sauce thickens. Sprinkle with pepper and sliced green onion.

I'm Italian, but my husband's Vietnamese and claims it's pretty good ^_~

Luisa, try it tom kho again. Try the more watery nuoc mau and try leaving the shrimp in the shell (get small shrimp so they aren't tough). That's how the Vietnamese prepare this dish (and YES, you eat the shells!)