A Recipe for Sheet Pan Roasted Spring Vegetables (+ a 💌 to Shrimp Paste)

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The recipe box is a collection of recipes and techniques from my favorite cookbooks—everything from up-and-coming titles to tried-and-true favorites from my collection. (Though you may see some original recipes here from time to time, too 😉) You can check out TOD’s archive of past recipes here if you’re looking for some meal inspiration.

Once upon a time, a long, long time ago (read: two years ago), I wrote this primer on shrimp paste, an indispensible ingredient in Southeast Asian cuisine, for Bon Appétit. Whether it shows up as Thai kapi, Indonesian terasi, Filipino bagoong, or Malaysian belacan, this umami-packed powerhouse comes in a wide range of flavor profiles that vary in salinity, texture, color, and pungency. Shrimp paste is truly an unsung hero; your favorite Southeast Asian dishes wouldn’t be the same without it. 

After having been previously relegated to “ethnic” grocery stores or branded “an acquired taste,” we’ve seen Asian pantry ingredients like miso, gochujang, and fish sauce become everyday staples in many households across the United States. These ingredients are no longer thought of as being made for traditional Asian dishes only; instead, they’re used to elevate a wide variety of dishes. The fact that they’re salted, fermented, and chockful of umami make them work well in every food application—savory, sweet, and everything in-between. If a dish is a party, umami will always be a welcome guest, but what makes it challenging is that umami sometimes brings with it a plus-one that can be difficult to mingle with.

As much as I adore using gochujang to spice up mayonnaise or elevating caramel with fish sauce, I don’t always feel like shrimp paste gets to have its moment. If we’re still on that party analogy: when umami comes hand-in-hand with soybeans—as in the case of miso—people don’t tend to think twice. A plus-one who’s salty, pungent, and funky, however, can clear the dance floor. Maybe that’s why shrimp paste hasn’t been more widely accepted and adopted into the mainstream. Native Southeast Asians will agree, too, that a little shrimp paste goes a long way; take this flavor powerhouse out of curry pastes, sambals, and relishes, and life loses meaning. Shrimp paste is as mighty as it is versatile.

You can read more about how shrimp paste is made, where you can find it, and all the cool ways you can use it in my story. Today, we’re focusing on one of my personal favorite ways of using this salty, funky condiment. 

As with many other Asian pantry staples, shrimp paste’s use isn’t limited to just traditional Southeast Asian dishes. I’ll be sharing here this easy recipe for roasted sheet pan vegetables. Not only is this dish a total cinch to throw together, it gives you complete freedom to mix and match your favorite spring produce (here, I’m using radishes, asparagus, fennel, carrots, and sugar snap peas). These vegetables are then doused in a buttery, salty, sweet, and sour sauce (reminiscent of bagna cauda, if you will). The deep umami-packed funk of shrimp paste makes these roasted vegetables a perfect companion to robust meat dishes (say, a grilled steak or pork chops). 

Illustration by Shayne Chammavanijakul

Have a great rest of the week, everyone. And to my friends in Chicago: here’s to more consistent, warmer weather! ☀️

Serves 4 as a side dish

• 1 ½ teaspoons Thai shrimp paste (kapi)

• 6 large garlic cloves, pressed

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

• 1 tablespoon packed dark or light brown sugar

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

• 12 ounces asparagus, trimmed of tough ends

• 8 ounces small carrots, peeled

• 1 (8 ounce) fennel bulb, cut through core lengthwise 1/2 inch thick, fronds chopped and reserved

• 12 ounces large radishes, quartered

• 6 ounces sugar snap peas

1. Position rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat to 450°F. In a small bowl, combine shrimp paste, garlic, butter, and sugar until it forms a homogeneous paste. Stir in olive oil and vinegar and whisk until smooth.

2. Toss vegetables with sauce until well coated and arrange in a single layer on a sheet pan. Roast for 15 minutes.

3. Rotate pan and increase oven heat to 475°F. Continue to roast until lightly browned and caramelized, about 15 minutes.

4. Leave vegetables to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Chop reserved fennel fronds. Transfer vegetables to a serving platter and top with chopped fennel fronds.