Nam Prik Kapi (Universal Thai Dipping Sauce)

Recipe Instructions In a wok, lightly fry the shrimp paste until aromatic. Crush all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle or food processor, except the makheua phuang which is coarsely chopped and added to the paste after mixing Description This is the staple dipping sauce eaten with almost anything, and almost universally added to the table setting of any but the most casual dinner. It is as much a signature dish of Thai cuisine as the more familiar (in the west) pad Thai and is traditionally the one dish, other than desserts, cooked by the 'mistress' of the house, as opposed to the servants (if ya' have money!), and is often extremely intricate in its preparation. There are probably as many recipes as there are Thai people, and this is but one example. The eggplants used - makheua phuang - are very small; the size of green garden peas, and are often added to curries as a crisp morsel that pops in the mouth. You could substitute the golf ball sized makheua pro, but the best alternative to the real thing is probably to omit them.