Nam prik kapi (Thai shrimp paste dip) with vegetables, fried mackerel and omelette

Cover the dried shrimp with water and microwave about a minute until steaming hot; let cool a few minutes.

Pound the dried shrimp first, the hardest thing, until fluffy with only a few chunks.

Add two cloves of garlic and chili and pound completely fine: no chunks of chili or garlic, though skins are fine. Start with the tough things and build softer things on top.

Add palm sugar and pound until the chunks break down and it dissolves into the liquid.

Add the shrimp paste and pound just until mixed with no big chunks.

Add lots of lime juice and mix with a spoon; add a little fish sauce for complexity.

Dilute with a couple tablespoons of water so more can be loaded on each bite; taste and adjust, since every shrimp paste differs in saltiness.

Garnish with extra fresh chilies cut into big chunks.

Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with steamed cabbage, long beans or Brussels sprouts and raw cucumber or other crunchy vegetables.

Dip eggplant in egg and pan-fry, unseasoned; fry mackerel.

Vegetable omelette: mix finely chopped Chinese broccoli with eggs, fry until golden brown on the bottom, flip carefully and cook through. Serve everything with rice.