Vietnamese Tamarind Prawns Tôm Rang Me

With half an hour and a handful of ingredients, you get the most delicious Vietnamese tamarind prawns with the perfect balance of heat, sweet, salty, and tang.

Growing up in Vietnam, I looked forward to visiting the seaside the most. My aunt had a house in Vũng Tàu where we often vacationed. It was quite lively and fun to travel with my extended family. What I really enjoyed after playing in the water for hours was the delicious seafood spread that we feasted on. Everything was fresh and cooked to order. Besides the bánh khọt, grilled razor clams, coconut snails, sweet and sour soup, and steamed crabs, I enjoyed the tamarind prawns (Tôm rang me) the most. I would beg my mom to make it for me whenever I had the craving. I’m so excited to share the recipe for these irresistible Vietnamese tamarind prawns with the perfect balance of heat, sweet, salty, and tang.

Ingredient notes

• Tamarind: tamarind paste is made from sour, dark, sticky tamarind pods. Blocks of tamarind are regular shelf items at Indian and Asian grocery stores or online. You can also make your own tamarind paste using this NYT recipe. For this recipe, you need to make tamarind water from the paste.  
• Fish sauce: use a quality fish sauce. Some of my favorite brands are Three Crabs, Flying Lion Premium Fish Sauce, and Red Boat Fish Sauce.
• Prawns: for this recipe I used local spot prawns from Tuna Dockside Harbor Market. If you can't find spot prawns, use large head on tiger prawns size 13/15 which means there are 13 to 15 prawns per pound. Bigger prawns are more fun to eat! 

Tips for keeping spot prawn fresh

When you buy live spot prawns you have to work fast or they will spoil. Immediately get them into a cooler or on ice after you purchase them. Avoid putting them in tap water or the chlorine in the water will hasten their death. If you’re not cooking them right away, remove their heads and leave the tail on ice. Spot prawns have an enzyme in their brain that starts spreading as soon as they die and turns the flesh soft and mushy. If you see prawns with black spots, that means the enzymes have started spreading. You can fry the heads tempura style or make a prawn stock out of them. Freeze the prawn heads if you're not using them right away. Put the tails on ice, cover them with a cloth and keep them in the fridge for up to two days until you’re ready to cook. Before cooking, simply give them a quick rinse in water and let them dry on a few sheets of paper towel.

Tips for making tamarind prawns

• The real key to making this dish successfully is to have the freshest prawns you can get. They are the heroes of this dish.
• Cook the prawns with shell on to prevent them from shrinking and overcooking.
• If you love spicy food, add the bird eye’s chili in the beginning when you’re sauteeing the shallot and garlic.
• For mild heat, add the bird eye’s chili at the end.
• Cook the sauce by itself for another 10 minutes on high heat to concentrate the flavor.

With just a handful of ingredients, you can enjoy this classic Vietnamese seafood dish in half an hour. The sweet flesh of the prawns melds together with the sauce for the perfect balance of heat, sweet, salty, and tangy. The best way to enjoy these Vietnamese tamarind prawns is getting your hands dirty, peeling the shell off, and popping these delicious morsels in your mouth. Don’t forget to suck the sweet, briny juices out of their heads for the full experience!

For more Vietnamese seafood inspiration, you might like these recipes: Vietnamese grilled razor clams, Vietnamese lemongrass beer steamed clams, Vietnamese savory prawn coconut pancakes. Vietnamese prawn and sweet potato fritters, Vietnamese crepes.

Vietnamese Tamarind Prawns (Tôm Rang Me)

With half an hour and a handful of ingredients, you get the most delicious Vietnamese tamarind prawns with the perfect balance of heat, sweet, salty, and tang.

5 from 11 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Author: Vy Tran

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 pound spot prawns or extra-jumbo shell-on shrimp, preferably head-on
• ▢ 2 tbsps olive oil
• ▢ 2 shallots, finely chopped
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• ▢ ½ tablespoon peppercorns
• ▢ ½ cup tamarind sauce
• ▢ 1 bird eye's chili, thinly sliced and extra for serving
• ▢ ¼ cup basil leaves

Tamarind sauce

• ▢ ½ cup tamarind water
• ▢ 2 tbsps fish sauce
• ▢ 2 tbsps sugar

Tamarind water

• ▢ 2 ounces tamarind paste
• ▢ ¾ cup boiling water

Instructions

• To make the tamarind water, soak the tamarind paste in boiling water for 5 minutes breaking up any chunks with a spoon. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Pass the mixture through a sieve to get the tamarind water.
• To make the tamarind sauce, in a bowl whisk together tamarind water, fish sauce, and sugar until well combined.
• Add the oil, garlic, and shallots to a hot pan. Saute over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
• Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the peppercorns and prawns and toss for 2 minutes.
• Pour the tamarind sauce over the prawns and cook for another 3 minutes.
• Add 2 tbsps basil leaves and chili and cook for another 2 minutes or until the prawns are cooked through.
• Remove the prawns and transfer them to a serving plate.
• Let the sauce cook on high heat for 10 minutes until it becomes thicker.
• Pour the sauce over the prawns. Garnish with more basil and chili and serve immediately.

Notes

• The real key to making this dish successfully is to have the freshest prawns you can get. They are the heroes of this dish.
• Cook the prawns with shell on to prevent them from shrinking and overcooking.
• If you love spicy food, add the bird eye’s chili in the beginning when you’re sauteeing the shallot and garlic.
• For mild heat, add the bird eye’s chili at the end.
• Cook the sauce by itself for another 10 minutes on high heat to concentrate the flavor.

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