In Singapore (where I was born) and neighbouring Malaysia, there is a chili paste known as Sambal Belac(h)an.
It is similar to this, with this addition of "Belachan" which is a dried shrimp paste that is available in block form. You shave small amounts of it, toast and add it to this type of chili paste. I now live in the Cincinnati area, and it was readily available at stores like Jungle Jims as well as CAM Asian Market.
The caution here is to dry-toast this outside, in a skillet on a grill because the aroma can be rather pungent. You would then sprinkle the shavings into this chili paste while you're frying it.
A decent substitution would be to use fish-sauce (Red Boat is my go-to fish-sauce).
This is great over Coconut Rice topped with a fried (crispy edges) egg and a drizzle of sweet soy sauce (ABC brand comes to mind) and some minced shallot.
Just sharing my thoughts.
M
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