Grilled Shrimp on Sugar Cane – Chao Tom

A delightful appetizer from the Central part of Vietnam, Grilled Shrimps on Sugar Cane or Chao Tom has grown hugely popular all over Vietnam and the world, due to the succulent taste of grilled shrimp paste wrapped around sticks of sweet sugar cane.

As a child, I was eagerly looking forward to special occasions where Chao Tom would be served, so I could devour as many sticks as I could.  My siblings and I devised of different ways to enjoy Chao Tom, we would nibble into the soft grilled shrimp paste from the top and all the way around and down the sugar cane, or we would bite one side first from top to bottom, then onto the next side, savoring each morsel. Once we finished eating the shrimp paste, the fun part would start, chewing and sucking the juice out of the sugar cane stick. It’s like eating the food as well as the utensil! Aside from being sweet and juicy, the sugar cane is perfect as a skewer as it’s not easily burnt.

The proper way to eat these Grilled Shrimps on Sugar Cane is to delicately sliding the shrimp paste off the sugar cane, cut it in half (or thirds) length wise, and wrap each portion in lettuce leave with fresh herbs like basil, mint, coriander, shiso, and banh hoi, a kind of flat rectangular rice vermicelli bundle available in Asian stores or on Amazon, then dipped in prepared fish sauce or nuoc cham. It’s really delicious and delicate.  Even adults love to chew and suck on sugar cane sticks…

In America, it’s not easy to find fresh sugar cane, so I have used canned sugar cane which is commonly found in Vietnamese supermarkets or on Amazon.

There are many ways to prepare Chao Tom. Some people add pork paste or pork fat, others like to deep fry the Chao Tom. This is my family recipe with a modern twist. Traditionally the shrimps are smashed into to a paste with a mortar and pestle, nowadays we use a food processor (I’m using a Magic Bullet).  To add richness to the shrimp paste, most recipes call for adding tiny cubes of pork fat or vegetable shortening. In our family we add the equivalent quantity of mayonnaise. We find that it adds a similar richness and also helps blend the paste together. We also add a small amount of baking powder to the mixture to make it firm and bouncy. Our family Grilled Shrimps on Sugar Cane recipe includes a touch of galangal which can be found fresh in most Asian market, or you could use instead galangal powder.

Traditionally, the Shrimp skewers are steamed for 3 to 5 minutes over boiling water before grilling. As mentioned, some recipes call for deep frying without steaming. We find that these Chao Tom taste so much better grilled, and it’s also healthier. Instead of steaming, I spread the skewers evenly on an microwave-safe plate (around 6 to 8 skewers per plate) and microwave for 1 minute, turn the skewers over, and microwave for another minute. This helps the skewers keep their shape and firm up. They are now ready to be grilled.

I hope you and your family would enjoy this recipe!

Grilled shrimps on sugar cane (Chao Tom)

Delicious Vietnamese shrimps appetizer

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 4

Equipment

• Food processor, mixing bowl, spatula, grill

Ingredients

  

• 1-1/2 lb 650 g peeled and deveined shrimps
• 2 tsp palm sugar crushed to powder (or light brown sugar)
• 3 tsp corn starch
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 3 tbsp minced shallots
• 1/2 inch galangal, chopped (or 1 tspn galangal powder)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1-1/2 tbsp neutral oil

How to serve the Grilled Shrimps on sugar cane

• 1 can sugar canes (about 20 oz)
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 bunch scallion
• 1 bunch assorted Asian herbs like basil, mint, shiso or red perilla
• 1 pack banh hoi or rice vermicelli bundles
• 1 head butter lettuce or other type of lettuce
• 1 cup Prepared Fish Sauce or Nuoc Cham

Instructions

 

• Thoroughly wash the shrimps by sprinkling salt over them, and rinse under running water till no longer viscous to the touch. Dry them with paper towel
• Roughly cut the shrimps to small pieces, put them in a bowl with the all the ingredients except for the mayonnaise and oil. Mix well to blend. Put the mixture in the food processor and blend until a coarse paste is formed. If using a Magic Bullet, process by batch by quick pulses to achieve a coarse paste. Put the shrimp paste mixture in a bowl and add the mayonnaise and oil, and mix well. Cover and let rest for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, prepare the scallion oil. Chop the bunch of scallion and put in a microwave-safe bowl. Add a pinch of sugar and a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of oil. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Let cool.
• Cut 4 sugarcanes into 4 lengthwise to make 16 skewers. Reserve the rest for another use (they can be wrapped and frozen).
• Set a bowl of water, 2 oven-safe large plates, the sugar cane skewers, and the shrimp paste mixture bowl on the kitchen counter. Wet your left (or secondary) palm with water, put 2 to 3 tablespoons of shrimp paste on the palm and a stick of sugar cane in the center. Wrap the shrimp paste around the sugar cane and lightly squeeze to wrap the paste tightly around the sugar cane. Continue until the shrimp paste is finished. Depending on how thick the shrimp paste is, you should have 14 to 16 skewers.
• Lightly oil the 2 oven-safe plates. Display 7 to 8 skewers on each plate. Microwave for 1 minute on each side, total 2 minutes for each plate.
• Take 1 tablespoon from the scallion oil made earlier, and put in a small bowl.Reserve the rest of the scallion and oil for garnish. Lightly brush the scallion oil over each skewer before grilling, to prevent from sticking to the grilling surface.
  
• Grill over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes, turning the skewers every couple of minutes so all sides are grilled evenly.
• Meanwhile, prepare the Banh Hoi (or rice vermicelli bundles) according to package instructions. Spread the scallions (from the scallion oil mix) evenly over each cooked bundle
• Wash and dry the lettuce and Asian herbs and display on a platter
• Prepare the Nuoc Cham (please see my recipe via the link at the end of the post)
• Serve the Chao Tom, Grilled Shrim Skewers, with the Banh Hoi, Lettuce and fresh herbs and enjoy immediately.

Notes

If you don’t have a barbecue, you can grill the shrimps on sugar cane skewers on a cast iron grill.  Spray some oil on the cast iron grill, cut parchment paper to fit and put on top. Lightly spray some oil on the parchment paper (this is a genius hack to prevent sticking and make cleaning much easier). When the grill is very hot, put the shrimp skewers in a single layer, without overlapping. Grill for 2 minutes on each side and turn them so all sides are grilled evenly. Total grill time: 8 minutes per batch.

Keyword Appetizers

Here’s our family recipe for Nuoc Cham:

We use a ratio of 1/3 – 1 – 1 – 3

The following recipe would yield around 4-1/2 cup of Nuoc Cham

1/3 cup white vinegar (or fresh squeezed lime juice)

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup fish sauce (or Nuoc Mam)

3 cups water

Mix above ingredients together. If you wish to prepare a batch and store for future use, boil the mixture for a few minutes, let cool, store in an air-tight container or jar and refrigerate. It should keep for couple of weeks.

Before serving, add sliced chili and minced garlic to taste, or 1 teaspoon of chili garlic paste like this one. It’s better than Sriracha!

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