Mam tom chua
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Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce, is a common
ingredient used in Southeast
Asian and Southern Chinese
cuisine. It is known as terasi (also spelled trassi, terasie)
in Indonesian,
kapi (กะปิ) in Thai,
belacan (also spelled belachan, blachang, balachong)
in Malay,
mam tom in Vietnamese
and bagoong alamang (also spelled bagoong aramang) in Tagalog.
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It is made from fermented
ground shrimp,
sun dried and then cut into fist-sized rectangular blocks. To many
Westerners unfamiliar with this condiment, the smell can be extremely
repulsive. Shrimp paste can be found in most meals in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia
and the Philippines
often as an ingredient in dipping sauce for fish or vegetables
Shrimp pastes vary in appearance from pale liquid sauces to solid
chocolate-colored blocks. Shrimp paste produced in Hong
Kong and Vietnam
is typically a light pinkish gray while the type used for Thai
cooking is darker brown. While all shrimp paste has a notoriously
pungent aroma, that of higher grades is generally milder. Shrimp paste is used differently in different Asian
cultures and can vary in smell, texture and saltiness. Therefore, the
correct shrimp paste should be chosen for the food being prepared. |
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