What Is Shrimp Paste?
Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce ( xiā jiàng, 虾酱 ) is made from broken or background prawn. Like pisces sauce, it is salted and fermented. The spirit is like to fish sauce, except it is quite a sting stronger and, well…shrimpier .
It can come in different forms, from melted sauces and thick pastes to solid, dried blocks, depending on which culinary custom the paste comes from.
Each unique spread has a different name and different applications, including ham ha in Cantonese ( Southern China/Hong Kong ), belacan ( Malaysia ), terasi ( Indonesia ), kapi ( Thailand ), mắm tôm ( Vietnam ), bagoong ( Phillippines ), and credibly more that we haven ’ triiodothyronine listen of !
These runt pastes can vary widely when it comes to salt level, spirit, texture, and color .
Some brands tied make sweetness, even, and blue versions, like this Filipino trade name :
How Is It Used?
many yue dishes, most normally clay pot dishes like stewed eggplant and bean curd use shrimp sauce as the primary season agent. Pungent and flavorful, these dishes are among our family favorites .
Shrimp sauce can besides be used as a condiment for dishes like stir-fried conch with vegetables and fry bean curd. The runt spread used in these yue dishes is called ham ha, and can be used meagerly. A teaspoon is more than enough for a stir-fry that serves 4 .
Another popular form of shrimp paste is belacan in Malaysia. It comes in distressed solid bricks, and is used in many malaysian dishes. One of our favorites is a childlike dish of stir-fried water spinach with runt paste .
Buying & Storing
Shrimp paste can be found in asian markets, particularly those with a thoroughly selection of Southeast asian ingredients. It can be one of the more difficult-to-find ingredients in our glossary, but it can be ordered on-line in a pinch.
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Dried prawn paste does not have to be refrigerated. Store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place .
Jarred shrimp paste is besides salted and fermented, so it will last a while without refrigeration. however, we find this ingredient doesn ’ metric ton induce used a frequently in our experience, so we like to keep it in the refrigerator to ensure it keeps longer. It can last over a year in the electric refrigerator .
fair make certain it is in a tightly sealed container, or you might get a shrimp-scented refrigerator !
Substitutions for Shrimp Paste
Because this is a highly specialized and alone ingredient substantive to certain Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese dishes, it ’ mho hard to recommend a detail alternate, specially since runt paste often functions as the primary coil season agentive role in the dishes it ’ mho featured in .
To get a like season in dishes without the paste, you can try frying runt heads and shells in oil over average heat until the vegetable oil changes to a bright bolshevik color ( the long you fry them, the more flavor you ’ ll get ) .
The kernel and flavor of the runt will transfer to the vegetable oil, and you can use the oil to cook your serve. It won ’ t have that fermented funk, but it ’ ll be puny ! We use a similar method acting in our runt slog thai recipe .
Our Favorite Dishes That Use This Ingredient:
- Char Kway Teow
( malaysian Rice Noodle Stir-fry )
- Khao Soi (Thai Curry Noodle Soup)
If you have further questions about this ingredient, let us know in the comments !
