with Chef Lê Đức Hải of Ngon Garden Restaurant in Hà Nội

Chef Lê Đức Hải

There are many tasty dishes cooked with shrimp, such as fried or steamed, but the most beloved is surely grilled shrimp.

Ingredients (for four persons):

-    Shrimp: 500g

-    Red horn chilli: 1 pc

-    Small chilli: 2 pcs

-    Lemon: 1 fruit

-    Garlic: 1 bulb                  

-    Cooking oil, pepper, salt and sugar

Kitchen tools:

- Wood charcoal,

- Grill grid

- Small bamboo skewers

Choosing and cleaning the shrimp:

You should not buy very big shrimp, but instead choose fresh shrimp the size of an adult’s index finger.

The shrimps should be cleaned, with the heads and threads on the back removed.

Grilled shrimp with salt, chilli and pepper

How to make the dipping sauce:

Mince the garlic and chilli and mix with half a teaspoon of broth, half a teaspoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of pepper, 2 teaspoons of cooking oil and 1 teaspoon of lime juice.

Use half of the sauce to marinate the shrimps for 30 minutes.

How to grill the shrimp:

Use the grid to slant the shrimps from head to tail to ensure that the grilled shrimp looks attractive.

Arrange and skewers on the grid over a charcoal cooker and remember to regularly turn the skewers to ensure that the shrimp is well roasted without being burnt.

During the roasting process you can put butter on the shrimps to improve the flavour.

You can also grill the shrimps in an oven at 200 degrees Celsius in 15 minutes.

Finished dish:

The grilled shrimp is a yellow-orange colour, and the soft and sweet flavours come together with the salty and eat of the chilli. The dish is more enjoyable when eaten with salad, cucumber and herbs and dipped in sour and sweet sauce or chilli paste.

Though not difficult to cook, the most important thing is to choose very fresh shrimp. Failing that you can sample the dish at Ngon Garden at 70 Nguyễn Du, one of most beautiful streets in Hà Nội. VNS