Shrimp paste

I very recently moved to Vietnam. I’m the first person to call anyone a kys faggot for turning their noses up at anything; I thought I could at least tolerate any food on the planet (t. RealTraveler), including bizarre and smelly seafoods.

But it’s been a couple times now I’ve been given ‘shrimp paste’ sauce and HOLY FUCK is this the most vile thing on the planet; I’d rather dip my food in warm human shit, unironically.

Can anyone more worldly than I help me appreciate why folks here eat this willingly and commonly? How can I train myself not to be a faggot?

you need a seafood stomach user you sound to white for this, were you born in the midwest? didnt grow up around salt water?

You're suppose to cut the shrimp paste with vinegar or citrus. You're not suppose to eat it straight.

>‘shrimp paste’
Isnt that the stuff where you wrap a bunch of fresh shrimps in some leaves and then leave them buried on the beach for a few months?

I am from the Midwest (sorta: Southern Ontario), but I’m a great lover of seafood and have lived abroad much of my life including by the sea. I’ve always liked fish sauces, and fermented things generally. But I just can’t wrap my head around this shrimp paste; it’s like taking the essence of shrimp and concentrating it 100000000x far far past the point of being enjoyable, and well into the realm of being plain-old rotten.

I’m curious if anyone here sincerely voices for liking it, and how they use it.

That’s what it tastes like, in complete seriousness.

The notion that at just ‘fried shrimp’ doesn’t come close to capturing it; the notion of it being left on a beach, with sea-water lapping over it, to rot for a few weeks, is much closer.

was cold and hungry with my feet bleeding because I had to walk to the std clinic, then someone gave me a shrimp paste and it turned out it was a shit paste

I don't know about eating it as a dip but it's a required ingredient in some thai curries I've made. To me it just adds a salty umami background but I have to admit when prepping it smells pretty vile on it's own.

Flip here. There's more than one type of shrimp paste, the one in your pic is the brown kind and you never eat that by itself nigga. Usually it's put into fish or pork dishes, like pic related. But as an user pointed out it can be a table condiment with lemon, lime or calamansi squeezed on top

Forgot to add: there is also a more pink type of shrimp paste that is not as pungent, you should maybe start with that. Shrimp paste is a god-tier condiment but not really something you'd use all the time

In the last two days I’ve had that brown stuff offered with grilled squid and fried tofu at different places.

don't train. you're literally eating bug paste. bugs for that matter. fuck shrimp. don't eat that bug shit it's disgusting

What exactly is it that you dont like? The smell? It's weird but ive never thought of this as a bizarre food until now. Maybe it's an acquired taste

Nah I can’t really smell it, it’s the taste that’s vile.

I use it in curry. Stuff is very pungent.

I give you permission to not like something. Even the locals have things they can't into

OP fuck dis nigga permission REVOKED, EAT DAT SHIT BITCH NIGGA

dang that looks tasty

When mixed into things all it tastes of is saltiness and brine.

Yeah my dude. My grandma used to cook it all the time, it's top tier comfort food.

I usually see the purple-ish version used.
This thing is used as a weapon by loansharks for a reason.

this, dipshit

Is it bagoong?