Where To Buy Shrimp Paste
Shrimp sauce can also be used as a condiment for dishes like stir-fried conch with vegetables and fried tofu. The shrimp paste used in these Cantonese dishes is called ham ha, and can be used sparingly. A teaspoon is more than enough for a stir-fry that serves 4.
where to buy shrimp paste
Another popular form of shrimp paste is belacan in Malaysia. It comes in hard-pressed solid bricks, and is used in many Malaysian dishes. One of our favorites is a simple dish of stir-fried water spinach with shrimp paste.
Shrimp paste can be found in Asian markets, especially those with a good selection of Southeast Asian ingredients. It can be one of the more difficult-to-find ingredients in our glossary, but it can be ordered online in a pinch.
Shrimp paste or prawn sauce is a fermented condiment commonly used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisines. It is primarily made from finely crushed shrimp or krill mixed with salt, and then fermented for several weeks. They are either sold in their wet form or are sun-dried and either cut into rectangular blocks or sold in bulk. It is an essential ingredient in many curries, sauces and sambal. Shrimp paste can be found in many meals in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. It is often an ingredient in dip for fish or vegetables.
Trasi, (Indonesian-Javanese fermented shrimp paste; alt. spelling: terasi), as mentioned in two ancient Sundanese scriptures, Carita Purwaka Caruban Nagari and Mertasinga, had been around in Java before sixth century. According to Carita Purwaka Caruban Nagari, Cirebon had angered the King of Galuh Kingdom after they stopped paying a tribute (in the forms of shrimp paste and salt, their regional products) to him. In Mertasinga, it was mentioned that Cirebon was attacked by Galuh Kingdom because they stopped sending trasi to the king.[1][citation needed]
In 1707, William Dampier described trassi (or terasi, Indonesian shrimp paste) in his book "A New Voyage Round the World"; "A composition of a strong odor, but it became a very tasty meal for the indigenous people." Dampier described it further as a mixture of shrimp and small fish made into a kind of soft pickle with salt and water, and then the dough was packed tightly in a clay jar. The pickling process softens the fish and makes it mushy. Then they poured arrack into the jars to preserve them. "The mushy fish remains was called trassi," Dampier wrote; "The aroma is very strong. However, after adding a little part of it, the dish's flavour became quite savory."[2][citation needed]
Shrimp paste may vary in appearance from pale liquid sauces to solid chocolate-coloured blocks. Shrimp paste produced in Hong Kong and Vietnam is typically a light pinkish grey; while the type used for Burmese, Lao, Cambodian, Thai, Indonesian cooking is darker brown. In the Philippines, they are commonly bright red or pink, due to the use of angkak (red yeast rice) as a colouring agent.[5][6] While all shrimp paste has a pungent aroma, the scent of higher grade shrimp paste is generally milder. Markets near villages producing shrimp paste are the best places to obtain the highest quality product. Shrimp paste varies between different Asian cultures and can vary in smell, texture and saltiness.[7]
Bagoóng alamáng (also variously as aramáng, uyap, dayok, or ginamós, among others in various Philippine languages) is Filipino for shrimp paste. It is a type of bagoóng, which is a class of fermented seafood in Philippine cuisine (including fermented fish, oysters, and clams) which also produces fish sauce (patís). It is made from the same Acetes shrimp as in Indonesian and Malaysian variants (known in Filipino/Tagalog as alamang) and is commonly eaten as a topping on green mangoes (also boiled saba bananas or cassava), used as a major cooking ingredient, or sautéed and eaten with white rice. Bagoóng paste varies in appearance, flavour, and spiciness depending on the type. Pink and salty bagoóng alamáng is marketed as "fresh", and is essentially the shrimp-salt mixture left to marinate for a few days. This bagoóng is rarely used in this form, save as a topping for unripe mangoes. The paste is customarily sautéed with various condiments, and its flavour can range from salty to spicy-sweet. The colour of the sauce will also vary with the cooking time and the ingredients used in sautéing.[citation needed]
Unlike in other parts of Southeast Asia and in Western Visayas,[8] where the shrimp is fermented beyond recognition or ground to a smooth consistency, the shrimp in bagoóng alamáng in many parts of the Philippines is still identifiable, the sauce itself having a chunky consistency. A small amount of cooked or sautéed bagoóng is served as the side condiment of kare-kare, an oxtail stew made with peanuts. It is also used as the key flavouring agent of binagoongan (lit. "that to which bagoóng is applied"), a pork dish.
Belacan, a Malay variety of shrimp paste, is prepared from small shrimp from the Acetes species, known as geragau in Malaysia or rebon in Indonesia. In Malaysia, normally the krill are steamed first and after that are mashed into a paste and stored for several months. The fermented shrimp are then prepared, fried and hard-pressed into cakes. William Marsden, an English writer, included the word in his "A Dictionary of the Malayan Language" published in 1812.[9]
Belacan is used as an ingredient in many dishes. A common preparation is sambal belacan, made by mixing toasted belacan with chilli peppers, minced garlic, shallot paste and sugar and then fried. Sometimes it is toasted to bring out the flavour,[10] usually creating a strong, distinctive odour.[11][12]
Galmbo are dried baby shrimps which are ground with dried red chillies, spices and palm vinegar to make a spice paste used in the sour, sweet and spicy sauce known as balchao in Goa, India. It was brought to Goa by the Portuguese and originated in Macao. It is more like a pickle and is used as a side condiment in small quantities.[citation needed]
Haam ha (Chinese: 鹹蝦; Cantonese Yale: hàahm hā; pinyin: xiánxiā) alternatively spelled "hom ha", also known as har cheong (Chinese: 蝦醬; Cantonese Yale: hā jeung; pinyin: xiājiàng).[15] It is a finely ground shrimp paste popular in southeastern Chinese cooking, and a staple seasoning in many places Cantonese people settled. It is lighter in colour compared to shrimp pastes made farther south. It is considered indispensable in many pork, seafood, and vegetable stir fry dishes. The smell and flavor are very strong. A pearl-sized ball of haam ha is enough to season a stir fry for two people. The shrimp paste industry has historically been important in the Hong Kong region, and Hong Kong factories continue to ship haam ha to communities around the world.[16]
Another common Thai food product is mun kung, which is confusingly also commonly translated as "shrimp paste". Mun kung is orange, oily, and more liquid while kapi is grey, light purple or even black, and much more solid and crumbly. Mun kung is actually the fat from inside the head of the shrimp, from the organ that plays the role of the liver and pancreas, making it somewhat like a shrimp pâté or foie gras.[citation needed] The term "shrimp tomalley" may also be used for nam kung although "tomalley" by default is generally assumed to be harvested from lobster or crab, and may also be used in English translations of the culinary extremely different Japanese food product kanimiso.[citation needed]
A watery dip or condiment that is very popular in Myanmar, especially the Burmese and Karen ethnic groups. The ngapi (either fish or shrimp, but mostly whole fish ngapi is used) is boiled with onions, tomato, garlic, pepper and other spices. The result is a greenish-grey broth-like sauce, which makes its way to every Burmese dining table. Fresh, raw or blanched vegetables and fruits (such as mint, cabbage, tomatoes, green mangoes, green apples, olives, chilli, onions and garlic) are dipped into the ngapi yay and eaten. Sometimes, in less affluent families, ngapi yay forms the main dish, and also the main source of protein.[citation needed]
Petis udang is a black coloured shrimp paste in Indonesia and Malaysia. Petis udang is a version of shrimp/prawn paste used in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. In Indonesia it is particularly popular in East Java. This thick black paste has a molasses like consistency instead of the hard brick like appearance of belacan. It also tastes sweeter because of the added sugar. Petis is produced by boiling down the slurry of leftovers from shrimp processing. Molasses is generally added to provide a sweet flavour to the petis. It is used to flavour common local street foods like popiah spring rolls, Asam laksa, chee cheong fan rice rolls and rojak salads, such as rujak cingur and rujak petis. In Indonesia, major producer of petis are home industries in Sidoarjo, Pasuruan and Gresik area in East Java.[citation needed]
In the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, shrimp paste is called sidol or nappi by the indigenous Jumma people. They use it to make vegetable food, such as bamboo shoots curry. This bamboo shoot curry is a traditional food of the indigenous Jumma people. They eat it in this way. First bamboo shoots are collected from the bamboo forest, then defoliated and boiled in water. Then boiling water is mixed with the shrimp paste. Some chili, garlic paste, salt, and flour are added to the shrimp paste mixed with water. The mixture is heated and, after a few minutes, put on the boiled bamboo shoots on the mixture while still heating. After some minutes, the food is ready to serve.[citation needed] 041b061a72