Terasi
This is a dark-coloured paste made from shrimps; it looks and smells a little like Marmite, but has the texture of ordinary fish-paste or Gentleman’s Relish. You can sometimes buy Indonesian terasi which has been imported from Holland; usually, however, shops in Britain sells terasi from Malaysia, which is called by its Malay name, Balachan.
Terasi, or balachan, is used in very small amounts as a flavourings, into a thick paste which is sauted, preferably in a wok with a little oil. The other ingredients of the recipe are then added to this. ‘Fried’ terasi is used in recipes where the spices are not to be satued, but boiled; the terasi is fried or grilled, by itself, before it is made into a paste with the other spices.
If you do a lot of Indonesian cooking, it is worth frying a fairly large amount of terasi - perhaps as much as 50 g or a couple of ounces - and keeping it in a separate jar. In airtight jars, in a cool and dry a normal packet, which contains about 100 g, will last you for a very long time. The airtight jars are for your protection as much as for the protection of their contents; terasi is extremely strong-smelling and strong-tasting, and it is especially pungent when it is being fried by itself.
