These fragrant grilled savory-sweet morsels are a classic Vietnamese appetizer/party food. Perfect for noshing with friends along with a cold beer or dry white wine. For chao tom, a garlicky shrimp paste is wrapped around a stick of sugarcane, briefly steamed to set the paste and shape, and then grilled to finish. Pieces of the shrimp are typically wrapped in lettuce with herbs and dipped in some nuoc cham dipping sauce. The delicate flavors of chao tom (how to pronounce chao tom) are a wonderful mouthful. And, the sugarcane stick functions both as a great skewer that doesn’t easily burn up and after the shrimp has been removed from the sugarcane, you can chew on the sugarcane for a chase of refreshing sweet sugarcane juice. How fun is that?

Chao tom is a central Vietnamese specialty (there are many kinds of chao from that region but this one is most popular in Vietnam) and you may have encountered it on restaurant menus. I’ve wanted to make it for months but couldn’t find readily available fresh sugarcane. Since it would be months before the Hmong farmers would be offering fresh sugarcane at our Saturday farmer’s market, I had to find alternatives.

At the Lions Chinese/Vietnamese market in San Jose, I found canned sugarcane, which turned out to work just fine. The sections of sugarcane are prepped and the flavor is quite nice for a canned product. Granted the canned sugarcane isn’t as soft as fresh, you can certainly chew on the canned version.

What if you don’t have access to sugarcane at all?
I’ve found that fresh lemongrass stalks are a nice stand in too. Choose big fat ones that are coming into the market now. Look for stalks that are a good 1 inch wide at its most bulbous part; I use only the lower 5 inches because it stays intact but you can use the up parts too. Another option for the chewable skewer is the fronds of fennel bulbs – the part that we regretfully have to discard. My thinking is that both lemongrass and fennel go well with shrimp, and are flavorful and sturdy, and I like to chew on them fresh but they’re too fibrous to swallow. They’re akin to sugarcane those regards. I tried all three types of sticks and the shrimp and they worked just fine. So you choose, you can make amazing chao tom with readily available ingredients! Enjoy.

If you have extra shrimp on hand
I bought a lot of shrimp this week to develop this recipe, and ended up making a slightly more Chinese version of the paste for Cantonese stuffed crab claws, a deep-fried dim sum favorite. The recipe is on Asiandumplingtips.com, the new site.

RECIPE

Grilled Shrimp on Sugarcane
Chạo Tôm

Traditionally, chao tom is made by pounding the ingredients with a mortar and pestle, but a food processor cuts down the work precipitously. The pork fat acts like tiny lardoons to enrich the mixture; you can cut the pork fat off a pork chop or use bacon, if you like. To make the fat easy to mince, boil it in water for 1 minute or so to firm up before cutting it. Canola oil is a fine substitute if you’re squeamish about the pork fat. When using palm sugar, remember to pound it to a fine texture with a mortar and pestle before measuring.

Makes 12 sticks, serving 4 to 6 as a snack or appetizer

Shrimp paste:
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined (13 ounces net weight)
Salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 teaspoons packed palm sugar or light brown sugar
Generous 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground preferred
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced and crushed into a paste
2 tablespoons minced shallot
1 tablespoon minced pork fatback or 1tablespoon canola oil

1(20-ounce) can sugarcane, or 3 fat lemongrass stalks
1 to 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small head soft leaf lettuce, such as red leaf, green leaf, or butter leaf
8 to 12 sprigs cilantro
8 to 12 sprigs mint
8 to 12 sprigs of other fresh herbs, such as red perilla (tia to) and Vietnamese balm (kinh gioi) (see Vietnamese herb primer for details)
3/4 cup Nuoc Cham dipping sauce

1. Refresh the shrimp by putting them in a colander and tossing them with a liberal amount of salt. Rinse immediately under lots of cold water and drain well. Blot dry with paper towel.

2. Coarsely chop the shrimp, then put them in a bowl. Add a generous 1/4 teaspoon of salt, the cornstarch, sugar, pepper, fish sauce, egg, garlic, and shallot. Transfer to a food processor and process just until a coarse paste forms. Transfer to a bowl, stir in the pork fatback, cover with plastic wrap, and set aside for 15 to 30 minutes. The mixture will stiffen as it sits.

3. Meanwhile,  cut 3 or 4 sections of sugarcane lengthwise into thin sticks, each between 1/4 and 1/2 inch in diameter. You need only 12 sugarcane sticks and will not use all the sugarcane in the can. Save the extras for another use; reserve some of the syrup for making the dipping sauce, if you like. (If using lemongrass, cut off 5 inch sections from the bottom, then quarter each one lengthwise. If using fennel fronds, cut off 5 inch sections about 1/3 inch in diameter; you may have to halve bigger pieces lengthwise.) Regardless of the type of stick that you’re using, blot it dry with paper towel and set aside.

4. Line a steamer tray with parchment paper and oil the parchment. Ready a pot of water for steaming.

Put the lettuce and herbs on a platter. Put the dipping sauce in a communal bowl. Set both at the table.

5. Have a bowl of water near where you’re working, along with the shrimp paste and sugarcane sticks. Wet one hand, then use the free hand to put 2 tablespoons of paste in the palm of your hand, spreading it out into circle about 2 1/2 inches wide and a good 1/4 inch thick. Center a sugarcane stick atop the paste (the ends of the stick will not be covered), then close your hand to make the paste adhere to the stick and surround it. Hold on to the sugarcane stick with your dry hand and turn the stick, all the while patting the paste with the wet hand to smooth out the surface. Set on the prepared steamer tray. Repeat to make 11 more. Put overflow sticks on a plate.

6. Steam the shrimp sticks over boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, until opaque, slightly puffed, and just cooked through. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool. The shrimp sticks can be covered and refrigerated for up to 3 days; return them to room temperature for grilling.

7. Preheat a grill to medium-high. Meanwhile, rub some oil over each of the shrimp portion of each stick; this prevents sticking. Grill the shrimp sticks for 6 to 8 minutes, turning frequently, until the paste is sizzling and there’s some nice browning. Transfer to a serving plate and present with the lettuce, herbs, and dipping sauce.

To eat, cut each shrimp stick vertically in 3 places. The 4 narrow pieces of shrimp paste will be easy to remove. Wrap each in a small piece of lettuce with herbs and dip in the sauce. Chew on the sugarcane stick for some sweet juice.

Note:
You can set out rice paper and a bowl for soaking the rice paper. Have people construct rice paper rolls. Small corn-tortilla size rice paper work well for the little pieces of shrimp; or, break a larger, 8-inch-wide rice paper in half. You can also just put more of the shrimp into the rice paper for a big roll. Or, you can add some round rice noodles, bun, to the garnishes and wrap it up with the shrimp and herbs.

After getting the low down on Vietnamese young green rice (cốm), what can you do with the little flakes. One of the easiest ways to savor the rice is to use it like breadcrumbs (think panko) and use it to coat deep-fried shrimp. Look for the rice at Vietnamese markets abroad or bring some back with you when traveling to Vietnam.

RECIPE

Crispy Shrimp Coated with Green Rice
Tôm Chiên Cốm

Serves 4 as a snack

1/2 pound shell-on medium or large shrimp
Salt
1 egg
31/2 tablespoons cornstarch or 5 tablespoon tapioca starch
½ cup green rice flakes (com dep, see photo of package)
Canola oil, for deep frying
Sriracha or Cholimex* hot chili sauce, for dipping

1. Peel the shrimp, leaving the shell on the last segment and the tail so that the shrimp is easy to manipulate during coating.

2. Devein the shrimp. For a nice presentation, butterfly the shrimp by cutting the back nearly all the way through (but not) and then pressing the shrimp open. You can opt to do a Japanese approach to straighten the shrimp out by making 3 or 4 shallow cuts in the inner curve of the shrimp body near the fatter end; press down on the shrimp and it will more or less lay straight, allowing you to dip and roll each one easily later. Or, just leave the shrimp as is.

3. To refresh the shrimp, toss them in a liberal amount of salt and then immediately rinse them with lots of cold water. Drain well and dry well with paper towel.

4. In a small bowl, combine the egg and cornstarch (or tapioca starch), beating with a fork to blend well. It will seem hard to accomplish but keep at it and eventually, everything will combine into a silky finish. Put half of the green rice flakes on plate and set aside. Nearby, have a plate and paper towel handy for draining the finished shrimp.

5. Use a saucepan, wok, or deep skillet to fry in. Pour in the oil to a depth of 11/2 and heat over medium-high heat to 325 to 350ºF on a deep-fry thermometer. If you don’t have a deep-fry thermometer, stick a dry bamboo chopstick into the oil; if after a few seconds, bubbles to the surface, the oil is ready.

6. Dip each shrimp into the egg batter, holding it suspended above the batter to allow excess batter to drip off. Immediately roll (or turn) the shrimp around in the flakes to coat. The flakes don’t need to cover every bit of shrimp; they will puff up a bit during frying. Slide the shrimp into oil and fry for 1 to 2 minutes, flipping midway to ensure even coating. The rice flakes will brown ever so lightly and that’s okay. They should keep most of their green coloring.

Fry as many shrimp as can comfortably fit into your cooking vessel. Transfer finished shrimp to the paper towel to cool and drain. Lightly sprinkle with salt and serve with the chile sauce as a dip.

Note:

Cholimex is an excellent chile sauce made in Vietnam. Terrific flavor. Buy a 6-pack when you’re in Vietnam and take it home in your suitcase! Bring bubble wrap so you can takeSaigon food souvenirs back with you.

To temper the Sriracha chile sauce, make this little sauce for dipping the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons Sriracha hot chili sauce (Rooster/Huy Fong brand), 2 teaspoons water, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar and serve.

I’ve had a hankering for hot wings these days and it’s not even close to Super Bowl Sunday, the uber chicken wing event in America. At many of the hippest Asian restaurants these days, there is some version of chile-hot, savory-sweet chicken wings. From RockSugar PanAsian Kitchen in Los Angeles to Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon, to Momofuku in New York, Asian-style of chicken wings are on the appetizer menu. Naturally, I wanted to make my own.
Admittedly, I’m partial to the renditions that involve Southeast Asian ingredients, fish sauce, garlic, and chiles. Can you blame me?

When I had the wings at Pok Pok by Ich Truong and RockSugar by Mohan Ismail, I was hooked. Ich (“Ike”) claims that his version is from Vietnam and Mohan is a talented, smart Singaporean chef who monitors and delivers on tasty Asian food trends.  (Read more about Mohan Ismail and RockSugar in my post, ”Can Real Asian food be mainstreamed?” on MarkBittman.com)

It was hard to decide whose version was better as they were both addictive to eat. At RockSugar, my husband and I had minor squabble as to who should/would eat the last one. We also could figure out if this style of wings is Vietnamese or Thai or something else. Shed some light, if you happen to know.

My solution is to make spicy Asian chicken wings at home. That way, you can have as many as you want.

The hardest part of making the wings is to find the wings. They used to be at all the markets but I had to go to several places. Costco doesn’t have chicken wings anymore. I got mine at Whole Foods but there weren’t tons.

Chicken wings are also relatively expensive – between $3 and $5 per pound. When I asked a Whole Foods butcher why they’re pricey, he naively responded: “They weigh less than the legs and thighs.” I wasn’t satisfied with that answer.

When we talked a bit more about current chicken wing prices, we both realized thatchicken wings are like skirt steak and duck legs. No one cared about them and they were considered down-market. But now, they’re prized for grilling and confit.

Chicken wings used to be dirt cheap, considered nearly throwaway parts of the chicken.Amy Sherman (CookingwithAmy.com) remarked on Twitter that she used to rely on affordable chicken wings for her stock but that’s not the case anymore.

So once you find your wings, the process to making an Asian-style hot wing is darn easy with the recipe below. It’s not much of a secret. Lots of fish sauce, sugar and garlic equal a winning combination.

Then there’s the deep-frying, which yields the best crispy-chewy texture. It’s a relatively low-drama experience. Timid about frying? You can roast the wings (skip the rice flour coating) at 375F or 400F and then glaze them just as instructed in the step 6 of the chicken wing recipe below.

I like to go all out and get the oil going. Why not? Chicken wings are now a deluxe snack. Do the full Monty, my friends and enjoy with a beer or glass of refreshing rose or white wine. Or maybe a cocktail. If you have a tweak or personal rendition of spicy chicken wings, do share it below.

Spicy Asian Chicken Wings

I used regular rice flour from Thailand. You can use the rice flour sold at regular health food stores, if you like. Cornstarch is okay too.

Serves 4 as a snack

2 pounds chicken wings (exclude wing tips)
3 or 4 cloves garlic, pressed (generous 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoon water
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Canola oil, for deep-frying
2/3 cup regular rice flour or cornstarch
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce, homemade or purchased
1 tablespoon chopped scallion, green part only chopped cilantro and/or mint for garnish1. Split each chicken wing at the joint so that you have a drummette and a lower joint (the chicken’s forearm). Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the garlic and water. Let sit for 5 minutes. Position a mesh strainer over a bowl, and pour the garlic water through to strain. Press on the solids to extract as much garlic water as possible.

3. Add the fish sauce, light brown sugar, sugar and pepper. Stir to dissolve. Transfer to a zip top bag, add the chicken wings, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or overnight.

4. Remove the chicken wings from the refrigerator at least 20 minutes before frying to remove some of the chill. Drain the chicken wings from the marinade and blot dry with paper towel. Reserve the marinade! Have the rice flour ready in a small bowl.

5. Pour the oil to a depth of 1 1/2 inches into a saucepan, wok, or deep skillet. Heat to about 360°F.
Meanwhile, lightly dredge each wing in rice flour, patting off the excess. Put the reserved marinade and chile garlic sauce in a large skillet and set it on the stove.

Fry the wings in batches until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towel.

6. Heat the reserved marinade until bubbly and slightly syrupy. Add the freshly fried wings and stir, turn, and coat in the syrup, which will turn sticky as it reduces and clings to the wings. Add a splash of water if you want to dilute the glazy bits in the skillet and get them to coat the wings. There should be no liquid left when you’re done coating.

Transfer to a plate, sprinkle with the scallion, and enjoy hot.