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Fermentation Atlas

Fish and seafood from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia

Kapiกะปิ

Grey to purple-black crumbly paste; keeps 12-18 months (JIRCAS). Southern Thailand makes shrimp-only, shrimp-and-fish and sweet types. Made in 5 steps over 4.1 months – 6.1 months. The longest step, ferment, takes 4–6 months (JIRCAS 1995). Salt is 15–30 % (JIRCAS 1995). Bacillus amyloliquefaciens, B. licheniformis and Virgibacillus halodenitrificans do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step4–6 monthsReported[jircas-kapi]Ferment
Salt15–30 %Reported[jircas-kapi]Mix shrimp with salt and hold
DocumentedFish and seafood4.1 months – 6.1 monthsMore fish and seafoodMore from ThailandMore from CambodiaMore from Laos

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
small shrimp: Acetes erythraeus and other Acetes; the mysid Mesopodopsis orientalis
sea salt
Starter: spontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 4.1 months – 6.1 months

Start
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Close-up: salt moving into a fishSalt 15–30 %

What changes: Salt draws water out of the shrimp over 1-2 days

Step 1 of 5
Mix shrimp with salt and hold
Time
24 h – 2 days
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
15–30 %
Reported
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
B. amyloliquefaciens
Pediococcus halophilus
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

Variants

  • Nam phrik maeng dakapi relish with crushed giant water bug (Lethocerus); cross-reference for insects.

History and sources

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

  1. [s1] Wikipedia, Shrimp pastewiki
  2. [jircas-kapi] JIRCAS, Database of Fermented Foods of Thailand: Ka-pi (after The Traditional Fermented Foods of Thailand, 1995)gov