Shrimp Sauce (Sốt ruốc)

June 27, 2010

Shrimp Sauce (Sốt ruốc) © kvalifood.com

A chunky, savoury Vietnamese sauce made from baby shrimp cooked down with spring onions, shallots, and chilli oil. It’s intensely flavoured - salty, peppery, and slightly sweet. Spoon it over steamed rice, congee, or noodles for an instant flavour boost.

Ingredients

50 g white spring onions, sliced
50 g shallots, sliced
500 g baby shrimp
½ cup vegetable oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp chicken stock powder
1 tbsp coarse black pepper
2 tbsp chilli oil (see page 337)

Directions

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large pan over medium heat. Add the sliced white spring onions and sliced shallots. Cook for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until softened and fragrant.
Add 1 tbsp of the fish sauce and all the baby shrimp. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the shrimp are cooked through.
Add the sugar, remaining 1 tbsp fish sauce, coarse black pepper, and chicken stock powder. Stir well and cook for another 5 minutes.
Pour in the chilli oil, reduce the heat to low, and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavours meld together.

Notes

Baby shrimp (sometimes sold as “small dried shrimp” or fresh tiny shrimp) are essential here - regular prawns won’t give the same texture.
This sauce is quite intense on its own. A small spoonful goes a long way over rice.
The chilli oil referenced is the annatto-based Vietnamese chilli oil from this collection.