Tôm Rang Me

the tamarind prawns of the Mekong Delta: whole prawns tossed in a dark, glossy glaze of tamarind, fish sauce, sugar, and garlic, sweet, sour, and savoury all at once and eaten with the fingers

Origin: Vietnam

From the journey of Tamarind.

Tôm rang me, tamarind prawns, is one of the most loved dishes of southern Vietnam, and it shows the tamarind, me, doing the work it does best in that kitchen: holding sweet, salt, and heat in balance with its own deep, rounded sourness. The dish belongs to the Mekong Delta and to Saigon, where the tamarind grows readily and where the southern palate leans sweeter and more frankly sour than that of the north, and it is a close cousin of cua rang me, the tamarind crab that is the grander version of the same idea. Whole prawns, shells on, are flash-fried and then tossed through a glaze cooked down from tamarind pulp, fish sauce, and sugar with plenty of garlic and chilli, until the sauce clings darkly to every shell. It is deliberately messy food: the prawns are eaten with the fingers, the shells sucked clean of the sauce, and a bowl set out for the debris, which is exactly the point, for much of the flavour sits on the outside. Sweet, sour, salty, garlicky, and faintly hot, it is southern Vietnamese cooking in a single dish.

Ingredients

Prawns

700 g large raw prawns, shell on, feelers trimmed
2 tbsp cornflour
3 tbsp neutral oil, for frying

Sauce

50 g tamarind pulp, soaked in 120 ml hot water and strained
3 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)
3 tbsp palm or caster sugar
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 whole red chillies, sliced

To Finish

3 whole spring onions, cut into lengths
2 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
1 handful coriander leaves

Method

Soak the tamarind in the hot water for 15 minutes, then work it with your fingers and strain, pressing hard, to give a thick sour tamarind liquid. Discard the seeds and fibres. Stir in the fish sauce and sugar and set the sauce mixture aside.
Pat the prawns thoroughly dry and toss them in the cornflour to coat lightly, shaking off the excess.
Heat the oil in a wok or wide frying pan over a high heat and fry the prawns in a single layer for about 1½ to 2 minutes a side, until pink, lightly crisp, and just cooked through. Lift out onto a plate.
Lower the heat, add the garlic and chilli to the same pan and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant but not browned. Pour in the tamarind, fish sauce, and sugar mixture and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, until it thickens, darkens, and turns glossy.
Return the prawns to the pan with the spring onions and toss for a minute until every shell is coated in the dark glaze. Tip onto a dish, scatter with peanuts and coriander, and serve at once with steamed rice and a bowl for the shells.

Notes

The same sauce makes cua rang me with crab, the celebrated grander version, and works equally with squid or chicken wings. The balance of sour, sweet, and salt is the whole art and is adjusted to taste; southern Vietnamese cooking leans sweeter than northern, so add sugar confidently. The prawns can be peeled if you prefer a tidier dish, though a good deal of flavour is lost with the shells. Serve with plain rice to soak up the surplus glaze.

The Gastrographer

Name: Tôm Rang Me
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 700 g large raw prawns, shell on, feelers trimmed; 2 tbsp cornflour; 3 tbsp neutral oil, for frying; 50 g tamarind pulp, soaked in 120 ml hot water and strained; 3 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam); 3 tbsp palm or caster sugar; 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 2 whole red chillies, sliced; 3 whole spring onions, cut into lengths; 2 tbsp roasted peanuts, roughly chopped; 1 handful coriander leaves

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control