belacan

Belacan is a reasonably common condiment from Southeast Asia. It is traditionally made by netting ocean krill, such as small shrimps and such, mashing the krill into a paste, and burying it in a small pit and forgetting about it for a few months. After the few months have passed, the krill is dug up and fried. The wise belacan hopeful will stand upwind from the frying krill for obvious reasons. The belacan is then formed into blocks and used sparingly for seasoning things like rice. It smells like holy hell and is somewhat of an acquired taste, like kimchi or Marmite. But if all you've got is rice, a little belacan will go a long way.