Shrimp Sauce (Sốt ruốc)
Prep 15 min Total 25 min
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.
See Also
Nước Chấm — Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
Hoi An Chilli Sauce (Tương ớt Hội An)
Magic Sauce (Sốt diệu kỳ)
Vietnamese Caramel Sauce (Nước Màu)
