For Hanna’s birthday this year, I continued a tradition that has become one of the most meaningful parts of our relationship each year: we cook a special, homemade meal for one another. It’s our way of showing love through food, and this time, I went all in with a four-course dinner to celebrate her. To start, I served this: raw spot prawns with muoi ot xanh. Delicately prepared and chilled spot prawns paired alongside their crispy, deep-fried heads, served over my take on classic muoi ot xanh.
There’s something quietly luxurious about starting a meal with raw seafood. The prawn meat was sweet, briny, and tender, while the deep-fried heads offered an irresistible crunch. It was one of those bites that made us stop mid-conversation and be in the moment. The dipping sauce, a riff on the classic Vietnamese green chili salt, tied it all together with a bold mix of heat, brightness, and that signature creamy sweetness that lingers just long enough to make you reach for another. Out of the four courses, this one was actually Hanna’s favorite!
Muối ớt xanh, or translated to “green chili salt,” is one of those Vietnamese sauces that makes you wonder how something so simple can be so addictive. Traditionally made with green bird’s eye chilies, lime juice, sugar, salt, and condensed milk, it’s a creamy, tangy, spicy, and sweet concoction that’s usually paired with seafood, especially grilled or steamed shellfish; and whoever came up with the idea to mix condensed milk into a chili sauce deserves an award for real. It somehow balances the sharpness of the lime and heat of the chilies in a way that’s both surprising and totally comforting. My version of muoi ot xanh stays true to its roots but adds just enough tweaks to make it my own, amped up acidity, a bit more punch from the aromatics, and a silky finish that works beautifully with raw seafood.
If you’ve never had spot prawns before, let me put you on. These aren’t your average shrimp. Wild-caught and only in season for a short window in the late spring to early summer, spot prawns are prized for their natural sweetness, tender texture, and bright coral stripes. The flavor is clean and oceanic, somewhere between lobster and Dungeness crab.
I look forward to spot prawn season every single year, and have fond memories of eating them with my family; and honestly, there’s just nothing quite like them. Whether they’re grilled, steamed, or eaten raw like in this dish, they’re a true delicacy. Also, huge shoutout to my friend Captain Paul of Fish PNW, who runs a local fishing charter here in Seattle. He dropped off an incredible batch of live spot prawns for me to use, and it made all the difference. If you’re ever looking to get out on the water or want fresh seafood straight from the source, he’s your guy.
This post is part of a collaboration with The Asian American Foundation (TAAF). All opinions…
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