Ridge Back Shrimp with Cambodian Pickled Mud Fish Basil Sauce

C – This recipe is dedicated to my oldest brother.

He loves Cambodian pickled mud fish basil dipping sauce. I am sure his wife makes a great version of it. But, this one is the one we grew up with. My parents would make it only about once a year. We usually just dipped beef in it. For special occasions, we would boil shrimp with heads on and eat them with the sauce.

This is food we would dream about eating. Whenever we made this dipping sauce, our house would be filled with commotion. It was loud and it was fun. The rarity of having it only once a year made us all appreciate it a lot more. We all really loved it. It was definitely a treat.

When Luke wanted to explore the seafood section at our local Asian market, one of the things we found were these Ridge Back Shrimp. Small guys. They’re a real hot commodity in the Asian community. Whenever he had wanted to try them previously, they were sold out. Luckily, we were there on fish delivery day. The new shipment had just arrived.

The only difficult thing about these Ridge Back Shrimp was we didn’t know what to do with them. After throwing out a few ideas, I thought of my brothers and family. I remembered having Cambodian pickled mud fish basil dipping sauce with shrimp. What a treat. I suggested this to Luke. Since he had loved the sauce the first time I made it, the idea was a no-brainer.

Ridge Back Shrimp with Cambodian Pickled Mud Fish Basil Sauce

Recipe type: Sides

Author: Christina

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 5 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 pounds Ridge Back Shrimp, alive
1 shallot, quartered
2 bay leaves
10 peppercorns
1 cup white wine
1 Tbsp salt
2 sprigs thyme
Cambodian Pickled Mud Fish Basil Sauce (link below)

Instructions

In a large pot, fill halfway with water. Bring water to a boil.
Add everything except shrimp. Bring everything to a boil.
Add shrimp and cook until pink. About 5 minutes.
Remove shrimp from pot and serve with Cambodian pickled mud fish basil dipping sauce.
Enjoy!

Cambodian Pickled Mud Fish recipe

It was great. The shrimp by themselves were good, but the sauce added more depth. It was wonderful. Sweet and juicy shrimp with fresh basil, green onions, lime, sugar and a little pickled mud fish as an umami enhancement really made this dish great. It was a great appetizer. We all really loved it.