Shrimp Paste/Kapi/Balacan recommendations

Hi,

I'm looking for recommendations on for brands of Shrimp Paste/Kapi/Balacan for cooking, specifically for Kang Kung Balacan

I've found a few different recommendations on the net:

here and for sambal balacan

and here and here for just the paste blocks, but don't know if any of these brands are locally available

so if you have a favorite around town (I'm not tied to malaysian or singaporean varities, and would be happy to use a thai kapi if it's good) please let me know, and also where you sourced it

thanks

I use Twin Chicken brand kapi and Shrimp & 6A brand belacan. Both of these were chosen through a bit of trial and error as well as reading the ingredient lists (minimal filler) and I'm happy with both. The kapi is definitely more potent. I feel like as long as you get a product that's mostly shrimp, freshness is probably the most important factor (particularly for belacan, which is drier and tends to lose flavor after a while).

By the way, I think I got these at Golden Pacific, which won't be of much use to you. But the belacan is also available at Hong Kong Market and I would bet H-Mart also stocks both.

HI,

At Seafood City on Elston, which caters to Filippinos, there is a vast section of shrimp paste.

Regards,
Cathy2

cilantro - thanks for the recommendations - I was looking for some trial and error results, and Golden Pacific is definitely of use - precisely because at Cathy noted there are many many possibilities out there.

zim wrote:cilantro - thanks for the recommendations - I was looking for some trial and error results, and Golden Pacific is definitely of use - precisely because at Cathy noted there are many many possibilities out there.

zim-

Golden Pacific is currently closed for renovations, which is why cilantro said it won't be of much use.

I've been happy with the Golden Boy shrimp paste recommended by the owner of Golden Pacific. I'm no expert but he said it's his favorite (not the most expensive they sell by any means). I really can't provide too much help in terms of how good it is, but one thing I appreciate for sure is that it seems slightly less sweet than a couple of other brands I've tried. FYI: 96% shrimp, 3% salt, 1% sugar.

https://www.amazon.com/Tra-Chang-Shrimp ... rimp+paste

I got this shrimp paste from Amazon. I don't remember where, but it was a recommended brand. It is 80% shrimp and 20% salt. It is made in Thailand.