Roasted Shrimp Paste Relish (Ngapi Htaung)
Ingredients
60 g/2 oz dried shrimp paste
2 medium onions
4 whole large cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons dried shrimp floss
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice
Directions
Press the shrimp paste into a flat cake, wrap in aluminium foil, folding in the edges to seal, and grill under a preheated griller for 10 minutes, turning to cook both sides. Wrap onions and garlic in foil and put under the griller with the shrimp paste. When cool, remove and discard skin of onion and garlic. These ingredients are pulverised using a large mortar and pestle or in an electric blender until very smooth, and the remaining ingredients are then mixed in.
Recipe excerpted from Encyclopedia of Asian Food by Charmaine Solomon (Periplus Editions, 1998)