(Ulang Sa Gata)

SERVES 4

This luscious dish gets its richness from unshelled, head-on shrimp, its silky texture from coconut milk, and its pleasant kick from Thai chiles. Serve it with plenty of steamed white rice to soak up the tasty sauce.

1⁄4 cup canola oil
10 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 small white onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp. fish sauce, plus more to taste
1 tbsp. palm, coconut, or white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. sugar
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
20 head-on, shell-on large shrimp (about 2 lbs.)
1 1⁄2 cups canned coconut milk
6 whole green Thai chiles
Steamed long-grain rice

1. Heat oil in a 14" flat-bottomed wok or a skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add onions and cook until soft and lightly browned, 5–6 minutes.

2. Stir in fish sauce, vinegar, and sugar and season with black pepper. Trim shrimp antennae with scissors, then add shrimp to wok along with coconut milk and chiles; stir briefly to combine, cover wok tightly, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook at a simmer until shrimp are almost cooked through, about 6 minutes.

3. Remove cover from wok; continue to cook, basting the shrimp with the coconut milk, until shrimp are cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from the heat; taste sauce and season with more fish sauce to taste. Transfer to a large, shallow bowl and serve with rice.