Just a spoonful of balachaung can be mixed into a bowl of plain rice for a quick delicious lunch. It is a dried shrimp relish/condiment to many Burmese families' meals. Growing up eating there I love spicy, salty, deep fried food. But I don't eat curry and other Burmese dishes that much and often anymore - either lack of time to prepare them or afraid it is 'too much salt or too greasy.' I do crave them sometimes. This is one of those things that a little bit goes a long way. Since it is salty, I like to eat with sliced cucumbers.
It is relatively easy make if you have all the ingredients. I prefer shallots more than onions. I peeled a bunch of garlic and shallots and used a food processor to mince them. The main ingredients are dried shrimps and shrimp paste (ngapi in Burmese, balachan in Malay). I used my spice grinder to pulverize the dried shrimps. I toasted the shrimp paste in a small pan on a medium heat. (the kitchen will be very smelly, some people can't stand it). I then heated some oil in a medium size pan and sauteed the shallots and garlic. After a few minutes, I added a teaspoon of cumin and paprika powder. Then I added the shrimp paste and dried shrimps and cooked for a few minutes. I let it cool and stored in a jar.
