Black Chili Paste (Nam Prik Pow)

Ingredients

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 ounces dried green jalapeno peppers
• 1 cup shallots, chopped
• 1 cup garlic, chopped
• 8 ounces dried shrimp
• 2 tablespoons shrimp paste
• 1/3 cup fish sauce
• 1/4 cup sugar

Method

• Heat a small pan with the oil and deep-fry the dried peppers, shallots and garlic until dark brown. Place the fried ingredients with all the others in a blender, and process until a smooth mixture forms.
• Pour the entire mixture into a medium skillet and fry on medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove, cool, and place in a jar with a tight lid and use as needed. It will keep indefinitely.

Notes

• Description:
• "Use in any Thai dish giving a richer and spicy taste."
• Yield:
• "4 cups"SOURCE: Thailand, The Beautiful Cookbook