Ba La Chaung

• 1 c. grapeseed or peanut neutral oil
• 1 c. vegetable oil
• 4 medium onions, sliced
• 20 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 2 Tb. shrimp paste
• 1 c. of dried shrimp, ground
• 1/3 c. chilis, ground
• 1 Tb kosher salt

1. Warm the oils in a sauce pan over medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions and fry slowly until brown.
3. Remove onions and dry on paper towels.
4. Add the garlic to the same oil and fry slowly until brown.
5. Remove onions and dry with onions.
6. In a separate saute pan...
7. heat the pan over medium-high heat, and then add the shrimp paste.
8. When the paste is even more olfactorially present than normal (1 min or so), add the ground shrimp and ground chilis.
9. Then add a couple Tb of the oil that was used to fry the onions and garlic. Mix all ingredients in the saute pan and let fry for 1 min or 2. You do not wish to burn the ingredients, only make sure they are giving off a strong scent.
10. Turn off the heat and add the salt. Mix the salt well into the other ingredients.
11. When the spice mixture is cool, combine it with the onions and garlic in a bowl an mix well. Let air dry in the bowl.
12. Store mixture in an airtight container and use as spice condiment with curries or braised dishes.

grapeseed, vegetable oil, onions, garlic, shrimp paste, shrimp, chilis, kosher salt

Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/ba-la-chaung-50132650 (may not work)