Living abroad has done wonders for me mentally, physically, and has created a better bond with my family and friends. For some, it is a terrifying time that can lead one to resent the new environment, but you have to let go of your fears and embrace the positive qualities before you can truly appreciate how blessed you are. I bring this up because the relationship between my parents and I have grown immensely after I returned.
This is the topic of today, because I have been feasting on everything my mom puts in front of me since I have returned. Many dishes that I took for granted or have forgotten about are resurfacing like buried treasures. The time spent in the kitchen listening to my parents talk about their homeland and our customs is fascinating.
Even though both of my parents grew up in South Vietnam, their lives varied dramatically. My grandfather, on my mother's side passed away when she was young. With my grandmother, an older half brother, older half sister, older sister, herself, younger brother, and younger sister they lived what sounds like a lower middle class lifestyle. My grandmother working difficult jobs such as roasting and packing coffee beans to support them.
My father grew up with both parents, an older brother, himself, three younger brothers, and two younger sisters. They, on the other hand, lived a more comfortable life with land and a nice house where a river ran through it. When the river flooded it brought with it an abundance of fish. My dad sometimes speaks fondly of these times, a time when he did not have to work two or three jobs.
In Vietnam, many families make due with what is readily available during the season. The country possesses a long coastline (approximately 2026 miles), and year round tropical weather, which affords them shrimp nearly year round. Shrimp proves to be on of Vietnam's greatest industries at 47.7% of all seafood caught bringing in over a million dollars.
It is no surprise that there are many dishes dedicated to this tasty crustacean. My mom makes a wonderful sweet, savory, and spicy shrimp where you can eat the shell too. In Vietnam, the combination of sweet and savory are iconic. Our sauce of choice, Nước mắm, is used as a dipping sauce, or ladled over noodles and almost everything else. Then there is Canh chua; a soup containing pineapple, tamarind, fish, seafood (shrimp is a popular ingredient), and a variety of herbs and vegetables. This simple dish takes no time to cook up and came from the Vietnamese people's intuition of utilizing what they have on hand. My friends come over often to eat and will always praise my mom for the magic that comes out of her kitchen. I never knew how lucky I was until being deprived of it for two years.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of Whole Shrimp (head and shell intact)
3 tablespoons of White Sugar
2 1/2 tablespoons of Fish Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons of Salt
2 tablespoons of Oyster Sauce
4 cloves of Garlic
A handful of Red Pepper Flakes
3 tablespoons of oil
2 Green Onions
1/2 Medium White Onion
When cleaning the shrimp use scissors to snip off the area from the eyes up, the legs, and the tail. Leaving them clean.
Cut off both ends of the onion and peel off the outer skin. Place the onion so that it is sitting upright and slice in half. Now put the half onion flat and cut into thick strips.
Wash the green onions, removing any dead sprigs or layers. Cut off the root end and cut in a diagonal direction.
Start by heating a large wok or fry pan with deep sides. Add the oil and let it heat up in the pan before swirling it around to coat the surface area. When the oil can move around at a high pace, add the garlic and red pepper flakes to warm up and release all the flavors and spice. After the garlic has browned, add the shrimp. Sautée the shrimp for a couple of minutes then add the sugar first to start the caramelizing of the flavors. Follow with the salt, oyster sauce, and fish sauce. Once the shrimp starts to turn a reddish orange, you can add the onions to cook. Make sure that the onion retains it's crunch. Then add the green onions and sautée for a minute to finish.
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