Shrimp paste: to toast or not to toast, that is the question

[KennethT]

I have been researching making some Nyonya dishes at home... one of the dishes is kari ayam - curried chicken.  I have looked at probably 8 different recipes recommended by Mr. Google.  They're all pretty similar with a few exceptions - some use a curry powder and make a curry paste, some use a curry paste but incorporate a few pre-toasted and ground spices, some use galangal, some leave it out, etc etc...

 

6 of the 8 have used shrimp paste (belacan) in the the curry paste, and I am sure that that would be traditional.... but some of the recipes instruct to toast the shrimp paste before adding to the curry paste, and some do not.  So, the question is, to toast or not to toast.... keeping in mind that the curry paste will be fried in a little oil prior to the addition of water/stock/coconut milk.

 

Previously, I have always heard you had to toast shrimp paste prior to using it... but, if it's going to be fried anyway, does it really make a difference?

[Deryn]

I am sorry that I don't have a definitive answer to your question, Kenneth, but a) I would consider that the variation in instructions is the result of this being a cuisine, like most, where it could be done one way in one house and next door, a different way (in other words, there is probably no 'right' way) and b) that, for me, toasting and frying might not bring out the same qualities in the shrimp paste (or any spice for that matter) - so it is possible that both could be done, or either could be done, and you will get a different result - either of which is probably fine depending on what you like.

[pufin3]

I just add the shrimp paste in with the curry paste and a dry spice mix I have. What I don't do is overheat the combination. Over low heat I give these ingredients a couple of minutes to 'bloom' before I add the rest of the ingredients.

[cdh]

I know in a Thai cooking class I took while on vacation in Thailand a long time ago, every time shrimp paste was used, it got wrapped in a little square of tin foil and waved over the fire for a bit.  If that's what you mean by toasting, I don't ever recall an instance where it wasn't done.  No idea if the toast/no-toast is a cultural difference between Malays and Thais, or if the Malays are also toast-always people.  It's been a long time and I've never really played with shrimp paste since, so I have no ideas how different the toasted flavor is from the untoasted.

Edited April 15, 2016 by cdh (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

Do it outside... Or wrap it in foil