Step 1

The first step is to take 2 tbsp of shrimp paste, flatten it out into a little patty, and grill it over high heat charcoal. You should immediately start to smell the aroma of the shrimp paste. Allow the shrimp paste to just sizzle for about a minute on either side, then remove from the grill. This step is optional, but it increases the fragrance of the shrimp paste. Set aside.

Step 2

Peel the shallots and garlic, and rip off the stems of the Thai bird's eye chilies.

Step 3

In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, shallots, and chilies for about 10 minutes until you get a nice semi-smooth oily paste.

Step 4

Add about 10 pea eggplant to the mortar, and gently crush them, just to release the seeds.

Step 5

Then add the shrimp paste and palm sugar to the mortar, and pound and mix simultaneously for about a minute until the mixture is even.

Step 6

Then add about 3 tbsp of lime juice to start and mix everything together, still in the mortar, with a spoon.

Step 7

Now to taste test. The nam prik kapi (น้ำพริกกะปิ) should be like a sauce in texture, and should be salty, sour, and spicy, with only a faint hint of sweetness. Add more lime juice or chilies as needed to balance the taste.

Step 8

Once finished, garnish with whole Thai bird’s eye chilies and more pea eggplant.

Step 9

For the vegetables, either serve them raw, or blanch in hot water for 1 - 2 minutes.