First make the "dressing".
For 4 Person(s)
Lightly fry the shrimp paste to bring out the aromas, and discard any oil that is forced out by the heat. Mix the ingredients with half the fish sauce in a food processor and taste add more fish sauce until it is just salty enough for you. Variation: add [up to] 6 finely sliced red chilis.
Once you have your dressings, you are ready to make one of a number of Thai dips.
1: Nam Jim Mamuang
prepare one cup of shredded green (i.e. unripe) mango, and combine it with the dressing. Variation: instead of shredding the mango just julienne it. If you use the chilli variation of the dressing the result is a Som Dam Mamuang (an Isan variant - the normal som dam is made with papaya).
2: Use a cup of coarsely chopped pineapple (nam jim sapparot).
3: Try a cup of any chopped fruit.
4: Nam Jim Luk Koei (kai luk koei is "son in law eggs" and is done with fried hard boiled [quails] eggs in a caramelised onion sauce). Take a cup of mixed "round things" - mareschino cherries, cherry tomatoes, cocktail olives, hard boiled quails eggs. Mix with the dressing[s] and serve on cocktail sticks. Variation: take about 2 T of shrimp paste, and fry it. Mix in about 1 T sliced red chillis. Use this mixture to stuff pitted olives (instead of the usual bland pimento) and serve it with a hot version of the chili dressing from above.