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Vietnamese Shrimp Stir-Fry

Pretty colors.

In our last CSA box of the year, we had broccolini, red peppers, and shallots, which screamed stir-fry to me. I'm on a constant mission to make a shrimp dish as delicious as the one at Pho Grand, so I searched for Vietnamese recipes and found this one by The Spruce Eats. My modifications: I made it less spicy for toddler (which didn't matter because he decided that night that shrimp is gross), I added a bit of sweetness to the sauce which I saw in another recipe, I stir-fried the shallots before anything else to try to fry them a little bit (because I dream about the fried shallot garnish at Pho Grand but I wasn't willing to go to the effort of frying them in a separate pot), and I increased the amount of sauce.

It's fresh, it's easy, the shrimp is delicious, and it's so healthy with stock as the base for the sauce.


The Recipe: (adapted from The Spruce Eats)
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
1.5 tb brown sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, chopped
other vegetables, chopped (I used 1 bunch broccolini and 2 red bell peppers)
1 c vegetable stock
4 tb fish sauce
1 tb sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tb vegetable oil
Rice, cucumbers, and cilantro for serving
  • Heat oil in wok
  • Add shallots and stir-fry until slightly browned
  • Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds
  • Add shrimp and brown sugar. Stir until shrimp are cooked through.
  • Add other vegetables and cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes
  • Add stock, fish sauce, sugar, and salt. Boil down for about 5 minutes, until vegetables are cooked to desired level.
  • Serve over rice with sliced cucumbers and cilantro

The Verdict:
Overall grade: B+
Overall reason: Simple, healthy, and tasty. Could have more flavor.
Time to prepare: 30 minutes
Husband quote: "The sauce is so good."
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