Shrimp paste

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Shrimp paste
A square of shrimp paste from Hung Kee store.jpg
A shrimp paste in Hop Yick Market at Hong Kong
Alternative namesPrawn sauce
Type Condiment
Place of origin Continental Southeast Asia [1]
Region or state Southeast Asia, Southern China
Created by Cham and Mon people [1]
Main ingredients shrimp or krill and salt
A block of shrimp paste in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines Philippine shrimp paste.jpg
A block of shrimp paste in Dumaguete, Negros Oriental, Philippines

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, Sulu archipelago, Western Visayas and Bikol region in Southeastern Luzon, [9] 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.

The word bagoóng, also refers to the sauce made with the bonnet mouth and anchovy fish, known as bagoóng terong .[ citation needed ]

Burong Hipon

Burong Hipon Burong Hipon 3.jpg
Burong Hipon

Balao-balao, also called burong hipon is a type of shrimp paste used in Kapampangan cuisine.

Belacan

Sticks of belacan produced in Bangka Island, Indonesia Belachan or Terasi Bangka.jpg
Sticks of belacan produced in Bangka Island, Indonesia

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, the krill are typically steamed first, then mashed into a paste, and kept in storage 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. [10]

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, [11] usually creating a strong, distinctive odour. [12] [13]

In Northern Australia, a variant of sambal belacan is known locally as blachan or blachung (a phonetic spelling of the Indonesian pronunciation), and is popularly prepared among Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander families in Broome, Darwin and Cairns. Its presence is credited to the influence of early Makassan traders. [14]

A version of belacan similar to Filipino "fresh" bagoong alamang shrimp paste (which is fermented for a shorter period) is known as cincalok.[ citation needed ]

In Sri Lanka, belacan is a key ingredient used to make Lamprais. [15]

Balchao

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

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). [16] 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. [17]

Kapi

Baskets and mounds of Thai shrimp paste (kapi) at Warorot market, Chiang Mai, Thailand Kapi chiang mai warorot market 01.jpg
Baskets and mounds of Thai shrimp paste (kapi) at Warorot market, Chiang Mai, Thailand

In Thailand, shrimp paste is called kapi (Thai : กะปิ); (Lao : ກະປິ). In Thailand is an essential ingredient in many types of nam phrik , spicy dips or sauces, and in all Thai curry pastes, such as the paste used in kaeng som . Very popular in Thailand is nam phrik kapi, a spicy condiment made with fresh shrimp paste and most often eaten together with fried pla thu (short mackerel) and fried, steamed or raw vegetables. In Southern Thailand, there are three types of shrimp paste: one made only from shrimp, one containing a mixture of shrimp and fish ingredients, and another paste that is sweet. [18] Nam phrik maeng da is available in Hat Yai and Satun markets. The body fluids of the horseshoe crab (maeng da) are pressed and mixed with kapi, giving a quite sweet taste. Nam phrik makham is kapi mixed with tamarind (makham) and is more sour.[ citation needed ]

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 man 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 ]

Mắm tôm

Vietnamese mam tom (shrimp paste) Mam tom.JPG
Vietnamese mắm tôm (shrimp paste)

In Vietnam, shrimp paste (mắm tôm, IPA: [mam˧ˀ˦tom˧] ) are of two varieties: a thickened paste or a more liquefied sauce. To prepare for serving it is usually mixed with sugar, lime juice, kumquat and chili when used as a dipping sauce. Vietnamese people often use mắm tôm as a dipping sauce for boiled meat, fried tofu, fried fish or for seasoning some soup dishes, such as bún mắm . [19]

Ngapi yay

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

Molasses-like consistency of black petis udang, produced in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia Petis.JPG
Molasses-like consistency of black petis udang, produced in Sidoarjo, East Java, Indonesia

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 ]

Sidol

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 ]

Terasi

Powdered ground trassi in the Netherlands Trassie Poeder.jpg
Powdered ground trassi in the Netherlands

Terasi (Dutch : trassi, Javanese : ꦠꦿꦱꦶ, romanized: trasi), an Indonesian (especially Javanese) variant of dried shrimp paste, is usually purchased in dark blocks, but is also sometimes sold ground as granulated coarse powder. The colour and aroma of terasi varies depending on which village produced it. The colour ranges from a soft purple-reddish hue to darkish brown. In Cirebon, a coastal city in West Java, terasi is made from tiny shrimp ( Acetes ) called rebon, the origin of the city's name. Another kind is petis made from shrimp or tuna mixed with palm sugar. In Sidoarjo, East Java, terasi is made from the mixture of ingredients such as fish, small shrimp (udang), and vegetables. Terasi is an important ingredient in sambal terasi, also many other Indonesian cuisine, such as sayur asem (vegetable soup with tamarind), lotek (also called gado-gado, Indonesian style salad in peanut sauce), karedok (similar to lotek, but the vegetables are served raw), and rujak (Indonesian style hot and spicy fruit salad).[ citation needed ]

On the island of Lombok, Indonesia, a more savoury and sweet shrimp paste called lengkare is made.[ citation needed ]

Industry

A vendor selling shrimp paste Shrimp.paste-hill tracts.jpg
A vendor selling shrimp paste

Shrimp paste continues to be made by fishing families in coastal villages. They sell it to vendors, middlemen, or distributors who package it for resale to consumers. Shrimp paste is often known for the region it comes from since production techniques and quality vary from village to village. Some coastal regions in Indonesia, such as Bagansiapiapi in Riau, Indramayu, Cirebon in West Java, and Sidoarjo in East Java; as well as villages such as Pulau Betong in Malaysia, Ma Wan island in Hong Kong and in Lingayen Gulf, Pangasinan in the Philippines are well known for producing very fine-quality shrimp paste.[ citation needed ]

Preparation

Preparation techniques can vary greatly; however, the following procedure is most common in China, and much of Southeast Asia.[ citation needed ]

After being caught, small shrimp are unloaded, rinsed and drained before being dried. Drying can be done on plastic mats on the ground in the sun, on metal beds on low stilts, or using other methods. After several days, the shrimp-salt mixture[ clarification needed ] will darken and turn into a thick pulp. If the shrimp used to produce the paste were small, it is ready to be served as soon as the individual shrimp have broken-down beyond recognition. If the shrimp are larger, fermentation will take longer and the pulp will be ground to provide a smoother consistency. The fermentation/grinding process is usually repeated several times until the paste fully matures. The paste is then dried and cut into bricks by the villagers to be sold. Dried shrimp paste does not require refrigeration. [20] [21] [22]

Availability

Trassi udang, as bought in a Dutch supermarket Trassie oedang.jpg
Trassi udang, as bought in a Dutch supermarket

Shrimp paste can be found in nations outside Southeast Asia in markets catering to Asian customers. In the Netherlands, Indonesian-style shrimp paste can be found in supermarkets selling Asian foods, such as Trassie Oedang from the Conimex brand. In the United States, brands of Thai shrimp paste such as Pantainorasingh and Tra Chang can be found. Shrimp pastes from other countries are also available in Asian supermarkets and through mail order. It is also readily available in Suriname due to the high concentration of Javanese inhabitants. In Australia, shrimp paste can be found in most suburbs where Southeast Asian people reside. [23] [24]

See also

  • Bagoong monamon  – Philippine food ingredient made by fermenting salted anchovies
  • Budu  – Fish sauce originating from east coast of Peninsular Malaysia
  • Conpoy  – Cantonese dried scallop
  • Dried shrimp  – Dried shrimp used as seasoning
  • Fish paste  – Paste made of fish meat
  • Fish sauce  – Condiment made from fish
  • Garum  – Historical fermented fish sauce
  • Kangkung belacan  – Asian vegetable dish
  • Liquamen  – Historical fermented fish sauce
  • List of Thai ingredients
  • Ma Wan  – Island in Hong Kong island (Tin Liu village) for one the Hong Kong site producing the paste
  • Padaek  – Traditional Lao condiment made from pickled or fermented fish that has been cured
  • Prahok  – Cambodian salted and fermented fish paste
  • Saeu-jeot  – Fermented shrimp in Korean cuisine
  • Sambal  – Indonesian spicy relish or sauce
  • Surströmming  – Swedish fermented Baltic Sea herring

References

  1. 1 2 3 Joshi, V.K. (2016). Indigenous Fermented Foods of South Asia. CRC Press. p. 22. Shrimp paste originated in continental Southeast Asia, probably among the Cham and Mon people of Indo-china, from where it diffused southwards to insular Southeast Asia.
  2. "Sejarah Asal-Usul Ditemukanya Terasi Serta Pengaruhnya Terhadap Kehancuran Kerajaan Sunda". Sejarah Cirebon (in Indonesian). 16 September 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  3. 1 2 Mahandis Yoanata Thamrin (29 October 2014). "Terasi dalam Catatan Perjalanan Pelancong Terlawas". National Geographic Indonesia (in Indonesian). Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  4. de La Loubère, Simon (1693). A New Historical Relation of the Kingdom of Siam CHAP. IV. Concerning the Table of the Siameses. Translated by A.P.
  5. de La Loubère, Simon (1691). Du Royaume de Siam par Monsieur de La Loubere envoyé extraordinaire du Roy auprès du roy de Siam en 1687. & 1688: Volume 1 (in French). Vol. 1. Chez la Vve de Jean-Baptiste Coignard et Jean BaptisteCoignard. p. 154.
  6. Visessanguan, Wonnop; Chaikaew, Siriporn (2014). "Shellfish Products". In Sarkar, Prabir K.; Nout, M.J. Robert (eds.). Handbook of Indigenous Foods Involving Alkaline Fermentation. CRC Press. pp. 212–213. ISBN   9781466565302.
  7. Redhead, J.F. (1990). Use of Tropical Foods: Animal products. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper. Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. p. 35. ISBN   9789251028780.
  8. "TERASI – (Dried Shrimp Paste)". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  9. In Western Visayas, shrimp paste or "ginamos" is prepared in a very similar way as in other Southeast Asian nations. In Iloilo, especially in Banate (famous for this delicacy), the minute shrimps or "hipon" are salted, dried under the sun, and then grounded.
  10. Marsden, William (1 January 1812). A Dictionary of the Malayan Language. Cox and Baylis via Internet Archive.
  11. "3 Easy Ways to Roast Belacan (Dried Shrimp Paste)". Archived from the original on 19 November 2012. Retrieved 13 May 2012.
  12. Pierson, Stephanie (4 October 2011). The Brisket Book: A Love Story with Recipes. Andrews McMeel Publishing. ISBN   9781449406974 via Google Books.
  13. Eats, Serious. "An Intro to Malaysian Food: The Ingredients".
  14. "'If you haven't had blachan, you haven't been to Darwin'". ABC News. 17 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
  15. "History baked in a banana leaf". Explore Parts Unknown. 25 October 2017. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
  16. "Shrimp Sauce / Paste". Archived from the original on 25 March 2018. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  17. "A taste of the sea: Tai O's famous shrimp paste". Food. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  18. อาหารการกินแห่งลุ่มทะเลสาบ.สงขลา: เครือข่ายสตรรอบทะเลสาบ. 2551. หน้า 34–35
  19. Mộc Miên (21 March 2017). "Mắm tôm – đặc sản dậy mùi vùng duyên hải xứ Thanh". Tin nhanh VnExpress (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  20. "Shrimp Paste – Gkabi" . Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  21. "Dried shrimp paste" . Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  22. "How Shrimp Paste is Made" . Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  23. "Shrimp Paste" . Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  24. "Ethnic Cuisine: Indonesia". Archived from the original on 22 January 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
Shrimp paste
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 蝦醬
Simplified Chinese 虾酱
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin xiājiàng
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping haa1zoeng3