Mắm Tôm (Shrimp Paste Dipping Sauce)

Definitely not the most attractive coloured nor smelling dipping sauce, especially if you're not used to the pungency of shrimp paste, but it gives such a great flavour to dishes such as tôm cuô'n hành (spring onion wrapped prawn and pork belly, as pictured) that you ought to give it a try!
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Mắm Tôm (Shrimp Paste Dipping Sauce)

Ingredients:

          2 tbsp. shrimp paste
          2 lemons, juiced
          2 tsp. sugar (or to taste)
          Chilies (optional)

Method:

1. Dissolve sugar into lemon juice
2. Add shrimp paste and stir until smooth
3. Crush a chili into the sauce to serve (optional)

****Tips: 

- Add extra sugar if you find the sauce too salty; add extra lemon juice to reduce the pungency of the sauce (be careful because adding too much can make the sauce too thin)

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I like to keep the chili separate to the sauce so that everyone can customise the spiciness to their own taste - we also eliminate the risk of not being able to cater to those who don't eat chilies. Also, crushing the chili into the sauce adds a much hotter flavour than slicing the chilies, as it releases more of the chili oil from the membrane (similar to how a mortar and pestle extracts the oils and flavours of spices and herbs). Sugar is in the recipe to balance out the saltiness of the shrimp paste without making it more liquid like the lemon juice, so if you find that the sauce is still too salty you can add more sugar.

I'd love to see your versions of my recipes if you try them! Feel free to send them through to my email address; on Instagram with the tag (@unadornedeats) and/or hash-tag (#unadornedeats); or attach them to a comment below!

Love and luck in your cooking!

- Unadorned Eats