A dense, oily, intensely aromatic Chinese condiment built on garlic, shallot, chili, dried shrimp, and dried brill, slowly fried until it forms a dark, glossy, grainy paste.
Ingredients
- 220 ml food-grade soybean oil
- 140 g fresh shallots
- 8 cloves fresh garlic
- 70 g peeled dried shrimp
- 55 g dried fish such as brill or turbot
- 24 g mild to medium dried red chilies
- 35 g Chinese red chili paste
- 20 g light brown sugar
- 6 g fine salt
- 1 tsp ground white pepper
- 25 ml light soy sauce
Method
- Quickly rinse the dried shrimp and dried fish under cold water, then cover them with warm water in two separate bowls. Let them soften until flexible under your fingers without becoming waterlogged. Drain thoroughly and keep the soaking water only if it smells pleasantly of the sea, never if it is harsh.
- Remove the hardest seeds from the dried chilies if you want a rounder heat. Cover them with hot water until soft, then drain. The skin should fold easily and no longer crack.
- Mince the shallots and garlic separately and very finely. Blend or pound the dried shrimp and fish until sandy and fibrous, not smooth. Then blend the rehydrated chilies with the chili paste to form a thick red paste.
- Heat the soybean oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring often, until blond, translucent, and highly aromatic. They should gently sizzle without browning at the edges.
- Add the garlic and continue cooking over low heat. Stir constantly as soon as the aroma becomes sweet and pungent. The garlic should foam lightly in the oil and remain pale blond; if it colors quickly, lower the heat immediately.
- Add the chili paste. Fry it slowly until the oil turns orange-red and the paste loses its raw smell. The mixture should make small, regular bubbles and never sizzle aggressively.
- Stir in the pounded shrimp and fish. Mix thoroughly to coat them in the aromatic oil. The sauce will thicken, become grainy, and begin to catch slightly on the bottom; scrape constantly with a spatula to prevent any bitterness.
- Add the sugar, salt, white pepper, and light soy sauce. Continue cooking over very low heat until the sauce is glossy, dark, and thick, separated by a thin layer of fragrant oil on the surface. It should fall from the spoon in a soft mass, not run like a liquid.
- Taste a little of the cooled sauce. It should be salty, marine, garlicky, spicy, and slightly sweet. Adjust only with a little salt or sugar if necessary, then turn off the heat.
- Let cool slightly in the saucepan. Transfer to a perfectly clean jar, packing the paste firmly under its oil. The sauce is best after resting, when the garlic, chili, and dried seafood meld into a rounder flavor.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 305.2 kcal
- Protein
- 16.35 g
- Carbohydrate
- 12.87 g
- Fat
- 21.25 g
- Fibre
- 1.96 g
- Calcium
- 25.64 mg
- Iron
- 1.03 mg
- Magnesium
- 21.44 mg
