Shrimp and Chicken with Coconut Water

Coconut water or milk with shrimp is a dish that any Vietnamese family is quite familiar. This dish is from the far South of Vietnam, because coconut plants grow there and shrimp should be easy to catch too with all the rivers surrounding the South area. This dish when modernized, large or small shrimp may be used depending on the tastes of each family. Also, the heads and shells can be kept on the shrimp during the cooking process. This dish has its natural sweetness from coconut water, and, if using coconut milk instead, the dish has the creamier taste. When the memory of my younger years flashes back, I think about this dish. However, now I live some distance from the Vietnamese groceries, I create this recipe to use the ingredients that easy to find in American groceries. I add chicken to this recipe because of my family taste, but it can be omitted to make more traditional. I think this recipe is a very tasty and healthy dish with including coconut water or coconut milk statistically very good for our health. The combination of chicken, shrimp and coconut water should not lack for our family meals.

Ingredients;
1/2 to 1 lb. shrimp*
1 chicken breast, sliced
1 tsp fish sauce
Simmering sauce ingredients:
12 oz. coconut water
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs honey
Spices:
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, chopped
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
2 green onions, cut into 2 inch lengths
1 tbs coconut oil

Directions:
In a separate bowl, place shrimp and sliced chicken. Divide the fish sauce and add to the shrimp and chicken. Let marinate for 1 hour.

Combine the simmering sauce. Mix well and set aside.
Heat oil in a sauté pan. Add chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add shallot and garlic. Cook until fragrant.

Stir in shrimp. Slowly add coconut water and blackstrap molasses. Continue to add coconut water. Adjust the seasoning to your liking with more sugar or soy sauce.

Cook until all the coconut water added into the pan has evaporated.

Add the green onions and black pepper and turn the heat off.

 

 

Serve with hot cooked rice.

 

 

 

*I use Costco shrimp without the heads and shells. It is my taste, but the original recipe uses shrimp with the heads and shells on.