This is a hot and spicy codfish and shrimp stew which comes from Bahia, a coastal region, where foods have been influenced by Africans who were brought to Brazil as slaves.

Next time you want an extra helping of that shrimp sauce at your local restaurant, think again.

Shrimp paste or shrimp sauce, is a common ingredient used in Southeast Asian and Southern Chinese cuisine. It is known as terasi (also spelled trassi, terasie) in Indonesian, Ngapi in Burmese kapi (กะปิ) in Thai and Lao language, belacan (also spelled belachan, blachang, balachong) in Malay, mắm tôm in Vietnamese, bagoong alamang (also known as bagoong aramang) in Filipino and 蝦醬 in Chinese.It is made from fermented ground shrimp, sun dried and then cut into fist-sized rectangular blocks. It is not designed, nor customarily used for immediate consumption and has to be fully cooked prior to consumption. It can be only be used as a condiment upon fully cooking since it is raw! To many Westerners unfamiliar with this condiment, the smell can be extremely repulsive (compare with asafoetida); however, it is an essential ingredient in many curries and sauces. Shrimp paste can be found in most meals in Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines after it is cooked, it is often used as an ingredient in dipping sauce for fish or vegetables.