Shrimp paste is a pungent paste of ground, salted, and partially fermented shrimps, dried and compressed into blocks, a foundational seasoning across Southeast Asia. Known as belacan in Malaysia, terasi in Indonesia, and kapi in Thailand, it is toasted or fried before use to mellow its formidable aroma, then pounded into curry pastes, sambals, and dipping sauces where it contributes profound umami depth. A little goes a long way: the smell is famously aggressive, but the flavour it builds is irreplaceable, savoury and complex. Like other fermented seafood products it is rich in glutamates. Cooks new to it should start small; converts soon find dishes taste flat without it.