Terasi substitute

Best substitute

Belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste block)

Use the same amount as the terasi you are replacing

Best for sambal terasi

Close match

Malaysian belacan is the closest substitute and swaps 1:1, since it is the same style of dried block and is roasted the same way. Thai shrimp paste from a jar works at about one and a half times the quantity because it holds more water. If you have neither, two teaspoons of fish sauce plus a pinch of palm or brown sugar stands in for half a teaspoon of terasi. Terasi's job is not to taste of shrimp but to be the savoury floor under a sambal, providing salt and concentrated fermented umami, and most Indonesian recipes use only half a teaspoon at a time.

Other terasi substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Thai shrimp paste in a jar (kapi)
Taste and texture differ
Use ¾ teaspoon wet paste for every ½ teaspoon terasi
Easy to find in any Asian grocer, but wetter and milder, so you use more and cook it differently.
What changes
Best for
sambal for cooked dishes, nasi goreng and fried rice, vegetable stir-fries, curry pastes
Because kapi is a soft wet paste, it cannot be dry-roasted without scorching; fry it in a teaspoon of oil for a minute instead. It is saltier in a flatter way and slightly sweeter, and it lacks the toasted, almost cocoa-like depth roasted terasi develops. In a sambal terasi the result tastes recognisably of shrimp paste but noticeably less deep, and the paste will be looser, so cook it a minute or two longer to tighten it.
3Fish sauce
Taste and texture differ
Use 2 teaspoons fish sauce for every ½ teaspoon terasi
The most likely thing you already own, and it covers salt and savouriness only.
What changes
Best for
cooked sambals, nasi goreng, soups and braises, stir-fried greens
The sambal will come out bright, salty and clean, and quite thin-tasting compared with the real thing, because fish sauce brings none of the heavy roasted depth that is the reason terasi is in the recipe. Add a quarter teaspoon of palm or brown sugar with it, which rounds the sharpness and imitates terasi's slightly sweet fermented edge. Cut the recipe's added salt, since fish sauce contributes a lot of it. Add it early enough to cook for a minute or two, not as a raw finish.
4Red or brown miso with a little soy sauce
Different taste
Use 1 teaspoon miso plus ½ teaspoon soy sauce for every ½ teaspoon terasi
The shrimp-free route, and the best option for a vegetarian sambal.
What changes
Best for
vegan and vegetarian sambal, shellfish allergy, tempeh and tofu dishes, vegetable stir-fries
Darker miso is also a long-fermented salty paste, so it delivers the same kind of concentrated savoury weight and the same thick texture, which is why it works better here than any thin liquid. What it does not have is the marine note, so a sambal made this way tastes rounder, beanier and plainly not fishy: good, but recognisably a different sauce. A pinch of crumbled nori or ground kombu adds back a hint of the sea. Fry it in oil briefly so it loses its raw edge.
5Dried shrimp, toasted and pounded
Taste and texture differ
Use 1 tablespoon dried shrimp for every ½ teaspoon terasi
Real shrimp flavour with only a fraction of the fermented funk.
What changes
Best for
sambal, vegetable dishes and urap, chili pastes, fried rice
Toast them in a dry pan for two or three minutes until they smell nutty, then pound them in a mortar with the chilies. They taste sweet and cleanly shrimpy, quite unlike terasi's pungent depth, so the sambal ends up brighter and less savoury. Adding a teaspoon of fish sauce alongside them gets you much closer. Grind them properly or they will leave a slight grit, which some people like in a coarse sambal and others do not.
6Anchovy paste
Taste and texture differ
Use ½ teaspoon for every ½ teaspoon terasi
Works in a cooked sambal, and is the wrong choice in a raw one.
What changes
Best for
cooked sambal goreng, braises, stir-fries, marinades
Anchovy paste is also cured salted seafood, so it melts into a sauce and leaves savoury depth behind. It is oilier and more directly fishy than fermented, and it carries a Mediterranean accent that is noticeable in a simple dish. In a fried sambal with plenty of chili, shallot and tomato it disappears usefully. In a raw sambal terasi, where the roasted paste is the dominant flavour and there is nothing to hide behind, it tastes out of place.

What is Terasi?

Terasi is Terasi, also written trasi and sometimes terasi udang, is Indonesian fermented shrimp paste sold as a firm dark cake or block, roasted and then pounded into sambal.

Cooking tips

Roast terasi before using it. Wrap the piece you need in foil and dry-fry it two minutes a side, or hold it on the back of a spoon over a gas flame until it darkens and turns crumbly. Indonesian cooks call this terasi bakar, and skipping it leaves a raw, harsh edge in the sambal that no amount of chili covers.
Half a teaspoon is a normal amount for a sambal serving four. Terasi is a background note, not a headline flavour, and the most common mistake is using far too much, which makes the whole dish taste bitter and ammoniac.
Some brands sell granulated or powdered terasi in sachets, and these usually already contain added salt and sometimes sugar. Use them at roughly the same volume as the block but taste before adding any further salt, and note that they still benefit from a brief toast in a dry pan.
Keep the block double-wrapped in cling film inside a sealed jar, and store it well away from butter, bread, coffee or rice. Its smell travels through a cupboard remarkably effectively, and it will take up residence in anything fatty or starchy.
In sambal terasi the paste is pounded with fresh red chilies, shallot, a little sugar and lime or calamansi, and often fried briefly in oil afterwards. Frying it after pounding softens the pungency and is worth doing if you or your guests are new to shrimp paste.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between terasi, belacan and Thai shrimp paste?

All three are salted fermented shrimp, but the form differs and that changes how you use them. Terasi is the Indonesian version, a firm dark block or cake, usually a little softer and slightly less salty than its Malaysian equivalent. Belacan is the Malaysian and Singaporean block, harder and drier. Thai kapi comes as a wet paste in a jar, which holds more water, so you need about half again as much and you fry it in oil rather than dry-roasting it.

Can I just leave the terasi out?

You can, and the sambal will still be a good chili sauce, but it will be a plainly different thing. Terasi supplies the deep savoury undertone that makes a sambal taste Indonesian rather than simply hot and sour, so without it you get brightness and heat and no bottom end. If you have to omit it, add two teaspoons of fish sauce and a pinch of palm sugar per half teaspoon of terasi, which restores most of the salt and some of the depth.

How much terasi should I use?

Far less than you would guess. Half a teaspoon of the block, roasted, is enough for a sambal to feed four people, and a teaspoon is plenty for a large pot of nasi goreng. It is a concentrate, and past a certain point it stops adding savouriness and starts tasting acrid and bitter. Start low, taste after it has cooked for a minute, and add more only if the dish tastes thin.

Does terasi need to be cooked?

Yes, in the sense that it should always be roasted or fried before eating, even in dishes served at room temperature. Roasting develops the flavour and drives off the raw pungency, and a great many sambals are then fried in oil on top of that. Do not add a piece of raw terasi to a finished sauce and expect it to come good on its own.

Is there a vegan version of terasi?

There is no vegan product that tastes the same, but the combination that gets closest is a teaspoon of red or brown miso with half a teaspoon of soy sauce and a pinch of crumbled nori or ground kombu, fried briefly in oil, per half teaspoon of terasi. That gives fermented salt, savoury weight and a hint of the sea. Also check any jarred sambal you buy as a shortcut, since almost all of them contain shrimp paste.

Related substitutes

More seafood substitutes

Terasi substitute

Other terasi substitutes

2Thai shrimp paste in a jar (kapi)

3Fish sauce

4Red or brown miso with a little soy sauce

5Dried shrimp, toasted and pounded

6Anchovy paste