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Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp
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Author:  marygott [ Tue Feb 05, 2013 4:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

I made some Thai curry paste today but was unable to buy shrimp paste so the Sri Lanken man at my multi-Asian grocery store suggested I use dried shrimp. They seemed to work well, I added extra as I thought the paste would probably be more concentrated. Extra is still not very much so what do I do with the rest of these little morsels which are now VACUUM PACKED and waiting for a purpose. Dave?

Mary

Author:  pepperhead212 [ Tue Feb 05, 2013 6:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

Mary,

That's a good test for your new sealer - can you smell the shrimp through the plastic?

Pad Thai is a traditional dish using dried shrimp, as is Som Tom, the shredded green papaya salad (which I have make with many vegetables - jicama, carrots, noodle beans, and shredded stems of bok choy, to name a few). Those are the two I have used the most dried shrimp in.

Something I have seen suggested to use a a replacement for shrimp paste is anchovy paste. I only tried my own mashed up anchovies (back in the days when it was still hard to find the good ingredients around here, and before the internet!), which isn't as strong as commercial anchovy paste, and I could hardly taste it, compared to shrimp paste. And dried shrimp has a totally different flavor, and as strong as they are, they are nothing like the potency of shrimp paste.

When I was first experimenting with Thai curry paste, and the only shrimp paste I could find was not really that good, I tried some vegetarian versions, figuring they had to be better without that horrible smelling stuff! However, side by side tastings showed that, while the shrimp paste was not really perceptible, the flavor of the curry with that paste was much better, even though we could not put it into words, or find what the flavor was. That was before that term "umami" was being used in this country, but that's what it was.

Is there anyplace you can get things like that online over there? I know there are companies that ship overseas, but I can't imagine the shipping costs!

The shrimp paste shown on this list of Kasma's favorite brands is my favorite, if you can find it. Trachang is another good one, though the containers are smaller. And don't get the watery, purplish, Vietnamese shrimp paste for Thai or Malaysian food.

Author:  BeckyH [ Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

Dave, your link is wrong!

Author:  pepperhead212 [ Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

Sorry Becky. I fixed it. I usually wait and see if it goes through OK, but I got a call, and forgot about it.

Author:  BeckyH [ Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

That list will be very helpful. Thanks!

Author:  TheFuzzy [ Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

Mary,

I agree with Dave. Anchovy paste, or anchovy past mixed with pulverized dried shrimp, is probably your best bet.

Author:  marygott [ Wed Feb 06, 2013 2:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

Thanks. I can get the paste but they were out of it yesterday. The curry paste was still very good. I never realized those bits on the top of Pad Thai were shrimp! I will have to make some soon.

Mary

No shrimp smell through the plastic!

Author:  JesBelle [ Wed Feb 06, 2013 8:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

I've only ever used dried shrimp on Pad Thai, so they go pretty slowly in my house. After I seal them, I chuck them in the freezer.

Author:  TheFuzzy [ Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

JB,

Really? They're used all over SE Asian and Mexican food. I go through a pack every couple months. They keep quite a long time in the fridge, for that matter.

Author:  marygott [ Thu Feb 07, 2013 2:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Little Tiny Dried Up Shrimp

Mexican? Examples please?

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