Vietnamese Shrimp in Roe Sauce (Tom Kho Tau Gach Do) is a quick and traditional home-cooked dish that’s packed with flavor. Sweet, savory, and beautifully presented, it pairs perfectly with steamed rice.
Best of all, from start to finish, this dish takes about 30 minutes, making it my family’s go-to recipe after a long day when we want something quick on the table.
For this recipe, use large freshwater prawns or large shrimp (size 21/25 or lower) with the heads intact. The “roe” in this dish is actually tomalley, or prawn head fat, which gives the sauce its vibrant orange color. I add a touch of annatto oil to intensify the orange hue, but this is optional. If large prawns aren’t available, you can try my recipe for Vietnamese Caramelized Shrimp (Tom Rim) with smaller shrimp.
Large freshwater prawns are usually available frozen in rectangular slabs at Asian markets. To defrost, simply drop the frozen slab onto cement to break the prawns apart, then soak them in water to finish defrosting. It’s a gangsta way of defrosting prawns, but it works beautifully. Not to mention, it’s a great way to take out aggression. Just make sure to wash the prawns before use.
For the best presentation and flavor, I like to leave the heads and tails on. However, if preferred, you can remove them and save the tomalley in a bowl to add to the sauce later. Recipe below. Enjoy!
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Vietnamese Shrimp in Roe Sauce (Tom Kho Tau Gach Do)
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A delicious traditional home-cooked recipe with large shrimp or prawns. It’s a sweet and savory dish that pairs wonderfully with steamed rice. The best part of this dish is that everything, from start to finish, takes about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs prawns/large shrimp with heads (about 30)
- 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder or mushroom seasoning powder
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 4 green onions/scallions (slice; separate whites and greens)
- 4 garlic cloves (peel and mince)
- 2 shallots (peel and mince)
- 2 tablespoons annatto oil (can substitute with neutral oil)
- 1/4 cup coconut soda (can substitute with water)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the prawn/shrimp: Peel the body of the prawns or large shrimp and devein. Trim off the pointy spear at the top of the head, and clip off the eyes, whiskers, and little legs along the underside of the prawn. I like to keep the tail and head; however, you can remove both the heads and tails if preferred. If removing heads, scoop out the head fat and transfer it to a small bowl.
- Marinate the prawns with bouillon powder, sugar, fish sauce, the whites of the scallions, half of the minced garlic, and half of the minced shallot. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.
- Pan fry aromatics: In a large skillet with a lid, heat oil on medium-high. Add the remaining shallot and garlic and sauté until fragrant (about 20 seconds).
- Add the marinated prawns and all their liquid. Add water or coconut soda and use a spoon to press down on the head to release the head fat into the sauce. If not using heads, simply add the head fat here and mix it into the sauce. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook the prawns until they turn opaque and pink (about 5 minutes).
- Finish: Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with the reserved green part of the scallions and ground black pepper. Serve with steamed rice for a complete meal.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, vietnamese
