Burmese Balachaung

Instructions

1. Rinse the dried shrimps several times to wash off any sand. Drain till dry to the touch. Dab using paper towels, if needed.
2. Heat oil in a pan for deep-frying. Fry the dried long red chillies until it starts to darken. Drain on paper towels and let cool completely. Pulse in a blender until completely powdered. Set aside.
3. In the same blender, pulse the dried shrimp, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt until shredded. Set aside.
4. In the same oil, deep fry the onions until crisp. Set aside.
5. In the same oil, deep fry the ginger until crisp. Set aside.
6. In the same oil, deep fry the garlic until crisp. Set aside.
7. In the same oil, fry the shredded shrimp (in several batches, if needed) until it no longer smells raw. Drain and set aside.
8. Transfer all the oil to a bowl, leaving about 2-3 tsp in the pan. Combine all the ingredients together in the pan (fried onion, fried ginger, fried garlic, fried shrimp and as much fried red chilli flakes as you can handle). Adjust salt to taste.
9. Remove from heat and cool completely. Store in a clean, dry jar at room temperature for months. Since the shrimps are already dry and cooked till crisp, they won't go bad. If you feel icky about storing shrimp at room temperature, you can refrigerate it. But honestly, you don't need to.