Compelling, pungent, and stinky are some of the terms used to describe this sauce used in southern China and Southeast Asia. Though made in a similar manner as fish sauce, shrimp sauce (mắm ruốc/mắm tôm) is thick like toothpaste and purplish in color. For Western palates, it’s probably the hardest Asian fermented seafood product to accept. (But what about a ripe, room temperature camembert or Roquefort? They’re quite heady too.) Shrimp sauce isn’t eaten right out of the jar. A bit of it is blended into foods or dipping sauces, where it imparts an aroma and savoriness that deepens the overall qualities of a dish. Think of it as a stealth ingredient for injecting umami into foods. Central and northern Viet cooks have a penchant for the sauce, and add it for the signature flavors of classics such as bun bo Hue (spicy Hue beef noodle soup) and bun rieu cua (crab and tomato soup). I've used mam tom shrimp sauce for making a Southeast Asian spicy umami ketchup.
Sold in jars at Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, shrimp sauce may be smooth or coarse. I prefer the smooth version labeled “fine shrimp sauce.” Koon Chun and Lee Kum Kee produce great shrimp sauce. There is shrimp sauce coming from Vietnam but the consistency of those products can waver. Buy a small jar as a little goes a long way!
Refrigerate shrimp sauce to keep its smell at bay. When measuring shrimp sauce for recipes, use a small plastic spatula to push it out of the measuring spoon so that you won’t have to touch it. Malay and Indonesian blanchan (aka belacan and trassi) are similar in pungency if not a little more intense.
Have you experience with shrimp paste? Feel free to note positive and negative feelings!
thuy says
We must have a psychic connection. I was going to ask you last night about mam nem and if the usage of mam tom would make it taste better.
sarah says
I will use it straight out of the jar, is that bad? LOL I like to dip crisp white peaches into it. Taught that way by my mom and been eating my peaches like that since I was a kid.
Kimberlea says
I absolutely LOVE mam tom. I'm with Sarah. I'll use it straight out of the jar, much to the chagrin of those (non-mam tom lovers) around me. My favorite applications of mam tom (besides in bun rieu)is to mix it with a bit of lime and sugar, and dip with green mango, or with piping hot tofu. Or in anything else really. One time I had banh canh at a restaurant and asked for some mam tom, and got an earful from an older lady, saying I didn't know how to eat correctly...oh well....
On another note, one of my mom's friend gave us a jar of mam ruoc after she got back from VN, and it's unlike anything sold here. It's kind of a burgundy color, slightly coarser and thicker, with some heat ground in, and not quite as, uh, pungent. I know it's from Phu Quoc, but I haven't been able to find anything remotely similar to it. Any ideas?
Joel says
There are in fact two types of shrimp paste products here. I have always been taught the thinner type in sauce-like consistency is named shrimp sauce (ha jeung), while the thick one, dehydrated, and compressed into solid blocks is the solid shrimp paste (ha ko) or belacan. I don't think our family used much of shrimp sauce but only shrimp paste because the more concentrated version makes it feel it is undiluted.
I understand it is not to be used in many dishes in Cantonese cooking and only sparingly if used, because it is very potent in pungency. It never appears on banquet dishes except as a dipping for sliced sea snail (whelk) dishes. Most of the uses are for home-style dishes like the classic steamed pork with shrimp sauce, or (to those of pre-WWII generation) mixing shrimp sauce with the residue pork fat after the lard has been rendered (ju yau ja).
One good modern dish is to use it in stir-frying water spinach. I suspect this may be linked with the usual Malay/Indonesian preparation of frying water spinach using belacan, but which version inspired the other is a 64 million dollar question.
Rohan says
I benefit from you! Though allededly gwailo, all my life gravitates to Guangdong and SE Asia for cooking wisdom and personal connection.
Glad you noted the objective difference between belacan and ha jeung - not really interchangeable.
<3
Andrea Nguyen says
Right on!!! Gwailo welcomed here!
Marie says
Could you explain the difference between Mam Tom, Mam Ruoc and Mam Nem? I have always wondered that. Thanks!!
Andrea Nguyen says
OMG -- you've all confessed your mam tom pleasures. I LOVE IT.
Sarah -- dipping unripe peaches in mam tom? Sounds like a new dish to me.
Joel -- I've wondered what the Cantonese use for shrimp sauce is because I'd never seen it in recipes. In Vietnam, we use mam tom in stir-frying water spinach too and it's one of my favorite summer dishes. I also make a pork with shrimp sauce dish from the Central region of Vietnam and it's delicious.
Marie -- Mam Tom and Mam Ruoc are the same. Mam Tom is the term used in the Southern and Central region of Vietnam and Mam Ruoc is the northern Vietnamese term.
Mam Nem is made from fish and is sludgy, thin, and used lots in the Southern (Mekong Delta) region of Vietnam. It is often combined with pineapple for a dipping sauce that's just lovely. Mam Nem is labeled "fish sauce" but it is NOT the same as nuoc mam. Great question!
Vuthy says
I look forward to seeing more uses for shrimp paste! I always have a tub on hand, the coarser gray kind with a disc of wax on top. I only use it as a dip for tart fruits, so I can relate to Sarah. I love mixing it with fresh chopped chilies and eating it with green mangoes or tart apples. However, I would love to start using this for soups! The mister will never try it solely based on the color and smell and always runs away when I whip it out.
Joel says
Andrea, it doesn't seem to come up in most restaurant recipes or modern cookbooks. In fact, some of my oldest Chinese cookbooks were dated to the early 1980s and even then shrimp sauce was already talked but not used in the actual recipes.
I suspect it is because shrimp paste/sauce is deemed too strong to be used as an integral ingredient for cooking. It seems to have been relegated to a condiment in restaurants or really rustic home dishes that everyone seems able to make at home but is afraid to admit.
Jennifer Giang says
Yeah! Unripe peaches... Unripe nectarines... Unripe mangos... My mom has always eaten these with some mam ruoc. Yummy! Kinda like chili salt with pineapple, grapefruit... or again, unripe nectarines/peaches.
Andrea Nguyen says
Jennifer, you too? I've been missing something here. I'd try this nifty snack but oddly enough, all my fruit at the moment are on the cusp of ripening! Soon... Thanks for weighing in.
Jennifer Giang says
Yup. I'm surprised you've never heard of it. Maybe it's a regional thing? She also does apple slices with muoi tieu or my favorite-- watermelon with a bit of salt. Are you familiar with these pairings? Oh yeah-- not sure if it's a Viet thing or not, but my grandma sometimes dips strawberries with a bit of sugar. *shrugs*
Hai says
I just had Mam Tom with crispy- fried tofu last night, ate with cold rice noodle. DELICIOUS. I disagree with you, Vietnamese Mam Tom is much better and more authentic than the chinese one in the picture. Brands like Mam Tom Bac (big and small jar) are way way better, it tastes just like those old days I had Mam Tom Dau Phu around Hanoi Lake...yes, I'm from the North so I believe we are more authentic than people from the South in terms of traditional cuisine. But at least I'm happy that Saigon people in the US appreciate Northern cuisine
Nick the secret restaurant recipes guy says
The stinkier the better... Just like cheese. The more aged, the stinkier it is and it tastes incredibly delicious.
Mike the best weight lodd diet solution man says
Mam Tom is some delicious stuff. I love it. I had some when Visited my dad in Vietnam. He had me eat this stuff while I was there. I didn't want to at first but after I started eating it, it tasted great.
Gainesville dentists says
Yeah! Unripe peaches... Unripe nectarines... Unripe mangos... My mom has always eaten these with some mam ruoc. Yummy! Kinda like chili salt with pineapple, grapefruit... or again, unripe nectarines/peaches.
Prasad says
Mam Tom has to be my favourite. I just totally love it even though it does stink.
Canada Goose says
we talk much,we love only a little,and we hate too much;
Canada Goose Jakker says
Canada Goose parka er ligesom en flamme, der kan gøre os varme hele vinteren.
Thai says
Mam ruoc is definitely taste delicious even though it makes your mouth smell. I can have a delicious snack by combining banh chan and mam ruoc together. Same as American kids, have Nutella and sliced bread together
marlon says
Yeah! Unripe peaches... Unripe nectarines... Unripe mangoes...They are all delicious!
nico says
I just discovered shrimp sauce. I picked up some at a southeast Asian market. I like to try new things. I am loving it. So far I have just tried mixing it into eggs and I love it that way. Even my young child, who frequently objects to eggs, enjoys it this way. I am looking forward to trying it other ways.
Andrea Nguyen says
Love how adventurous you and your family are!
Fred says
Does anyone know if the Minh Ha Preserved Fine Shrimp Paste Hau Loc Style is comparable to Koon Chun's Fine Shrimp Sauce and Lee Kum Kee's Fine Shrimp Sauce? Where I live the last two brands are not available, but Minh Ha is.
Thanks a lot!
Andrea Nguyen says
I've not seen MH brand, Fred. Hopefully, someone else can help you! If it's not too pricey, give it a try, especially if it's stocked at a market that you trust.