TASTEMADE: Tom Rang Muoi- Vietnamese Stir-Fried Salt and Pepper Shrimp

It's AAPI Heritage Month and I wanted to share one of my family's favorite dish, salt and pepper shrimp. 

Asian dishes like this provoke childhood memories for me and it's something that I really cherish and helps fuel my passion in the kitchen. As a family we loved sitting around the dinner table and enjoying these crunchy and savory shrimps with a side of rice. The shrimps are so crispy that you can eat them whole with shells intact.

The secret is in special pepper/salt seasoning ratio that gives you that nice peppery burn. I like using a mix of black peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns like traditional Chinese recipes because Sichuan peppercorns has a unique numbing feeling on the tongue (you can also use sub with rainbow peppercorns if you can’t find Sichuan peppercorns, or you can just use black peppercorns).

INGREDIENTS

1 lb head on shrimp, about 10-12 shrimps
2-3 tbs corn starch

3 tbs Thai chili peppers sliced (reserve some for final garnishing)
3 tbs jalepeno peppers sliced (reserve some for final garnishing)
1/4 cup green onion sliced on diagonal (reserve some for final garnishing)
1 tsp fish sauce

2-4 tbs cooking oil (or Tea seed oil)
1 bulb garlic (peel all cloves and mince)

1/4 - 1/2 cup of oil for shallow frying (Tea seed oil or cooking oil)

Garnish

Lime wedges

Salt / Pepper mixture:
3 tbs sea salt
Sichuan peppers and black pepper (50/50 mixture, about 3-4 tbs)
1/2 tbs sugar

1. Dry roast whole black & Sichuan pepper corns for one to two min until fragrant over medium high heat (no oil) until a little smokey. Then transfer to a bowl.

2. Toast salt on med high heat for a min or two until slightly yellow and dry, then transfer to a bowl.

3. Grind peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until smooth and transfer to a small bowl.

4. Then mix 1 tbs of that ground pepper with 3 tbs salt and 1/2 tbs sugar. Transfer to mortar and pestle and grind again until evenly incorporated. Transfer to a small bowl (you can discard any of the remainder black/sichuan pepper).

PREPARATION

1. Wash, trim (trim off shrimp head tips, tendrils and legs) and cut along the back of the shrimps (for easy peeling) and devein, drain shrimp and pat dry.

2. Add a little sea salt to shrimp in a bowl and drizzle in a little oil and toss. Let marinade 10 min.

3. Heat up a few tbs of oil and fry minced garlic until slightly browned and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

4. Right before cooking, add shrimp in zip lock bag right before cooking and add 2-3 tbs cornstarch to dust all shrimps.

5. Shallow fry side of shrimps for about 30-60 seconds until no longer transparent and a little browned at edges on both sides. Fry in small batches and set aside on paper towel lined plate to absorb extra oil.

6. In a separate work or large pan heat up 1-2 tbs of the oil in a wok.

7. Add garlic, Thai chili & jalepeno peppers, green onions, and fish sauce until fragrant (about a min).

8. Quickly toss in shrimps. Toss. Then add some of the salt/pepper mixture to coat and to your taste (1/2 tsp to 1 tsp). Mix 30 seconds. Transfer to serving plate.

9. Sprinkle some extra salt and pepper mixture to taste, garnish with some of that extra reserved fresh Thai chili peppers, jalapeño, and green onions.