Ngapi — the fermented fish or shrimp paste of Burma — is the primary fermented seasoning of the Burmese kitchen, equivalent in function to Thai kapi/pla raa, Vietnamese mắm, Lao padaek, and Cambodian prahok. Burmese ngapi exists in multiple forms: ngapi gyo (dried fish paste), ngapi kyaw (fried ngapi used as a condiment), and the fresh version used in cooking. Duguid covers ngapi in Burma: Rivers of Flavor as the ingredient that most defines Burmese cooking's aromatic identity.
**The two primary types:** **Fish ngapi (nga-pi):** Made from fermented whole small fish — the most commonly used form in cooking. Its flavour: deeply fermented, intensely savoury, with a pungency less sharp than Thai kapi but more complex than Vietnamese fish sauce. **Shrimp ngapi:** Made from fermented shrimp — similar to Thai kapi in production but with a different character from the specific shrimp varieties used in Burma. **Ngapi kyaw (fried ngapi condiment):** Ngapi fried with shallots, garlic, dried chilli, and a small amount of oil until fragrant and slightly caramelised — served as a condiment alongside every Burmese meal. It is the equivalent of the Thai nam prik kapi (Entry TH-07) — the primary fermented condiment of the Burmese table.
Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford, *Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia* (2000); Naomi Duguid, *Burma: Rivers of Flavor* (2012)