Makes about 2 cups
Printable Version
330g of palm sugar (or, as I prefer 165g of palm sugar plus 165g of either brown sugar or unrefined cane sugar)
1/3 cup (80 mL) fish sauce
8g shrimp paste
2 large (46g) shallots, peeled and cut into thin slices lengthwise
66g dried shrimp, divided
Small dried red chilies (I use arbol), to taste
Crush the palm sugar (and cane sugar, if applicable) with a large cleaver or a granite pestle into small chunks. This allows it to melt more quickly and easily.Place the sugar(s) in a medium pot along with the shrimp paste and fish sauce; set the pot over low heat.Keep stirring until everything has melted and come to a gentle boil.Remove the pot from heat and let the syrup cool to about 100°-115°F (43°-47°C); it will also thicken up slightly upon cooling. You should end up with about 1 1/2 cups (360 mL) of sticky sauce that has the consistency of maple syrup.While waiting for the syrup to cool, divide the dried shrimp into two equal portions. Pulverize one portion in a food processor or coffee grinder until you get fluffy, tiny flakes; keep the other portion whole.Stir the dried shrimp and the shallots into the syrup. The residual heat of the syrup will wilt the shallots slightly. And while the moisture from the shallots will thin out the sauce somewhat, the dried shrimp flakes give it body.Crush up with your fingers the amount of dried chilies commensurate with your heat tolerance and stir that in.The sauce is ready to be served with your favorite tart fruits. Provided that you keep the sauce in an air-tight container and don't dip (or, worse, double-dip) the fruit right into the container, the sauce should keep, refrigerated, for a month.
