Step 1

Combine the lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili paste, salt, sugar, and oil in a bowl. Add the shrimp and marinate for 15 minutes. Thread the shrimp on the skewers and set them aside. Start a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill to moderate heat. Just before serving, grill the shrimp, turning the skewers, until just done, about 2 or 3 minutes total, depending on the size. If you don't have a grill, trim the skewers and cook in a pan with a little oil on the stovetop.

Step 2

Serves 4 as an Appetizer

Step 3

Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table, by Mai Pham.

Step 4

Note: Vietnamese cuisine comes from an extraordinarily rich tradition, one that combines Chinese, French, and Indian influences. Acclaimed chef, cooking teacher and restaurateur Mai Pham has returned to her native land on numerous occasions to learn the secrets of its regional cuisine.

Step 5

The following recipe is excerpted from her latest book, Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table, a compilation of over 100 classic recipes that define Vietnamese cuisine today. These recipes are accompanied by marvelous stories and family anecdotes, as well as fine black and white photographs of the author's native land.