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Fish and seafood from China

Haam ha鹹蝦

Haam ha is Cantonese shrimp paste made from tiny Acetes shrimp and salt alone. The shrimp are mixed with coarse salt, ground, left to ferment in open vats and then spread thin on bamboo trays to sun-dry before regrinding. The fine, very pungent paste seasons stir-fried pork, seafood and vegetables and steamed minced pork cakes.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Haam ha itself.

Short entryFish and seafood30 days – 2 months

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
tiny shrimp (Acetes)
salt
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 30 days – 2 months

Start
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Close-up: salt moving into a fish

What changes: Tiny shrimp are washed and mixed with coarse salt

Step 1 of 4
Wash the shrimp and mix with coarse salt
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Haam ha is Cantonese shrimp paste made from tiny Acetes shrimp and salt alone. The shrimp are mixed with coarse salt, ground, left to ferment in open vats and then spread thin on bamboo trays to sun-dry before regrinding. The fine, very pungent paste seasons stir-fried pork, seafood and vegetables and steamed minced pork cakes. Made in 4 steps over 30 days – 2 months. The longest step, ferment in open vats, takes 30 days – 2 months (UBC Food 2026).

Key numbers
Main step30 days – 2 monthsReported[ubc2026]Ferment in open vats

What makes this one different

Haam ha is made from shrimp and salt only, fermented in open vats first and sun-dried after, where Thai kapi is sun-dried and pounded before it ferments.

Related ferments

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [s1] Wikipedia, Shrimp paste (outline only)wiki
  2. [ubc2026] UBC Food, Nutrition and Health 200 course wiki, Tai O shrimp paste (student project, 2026)web