Sanpo

Sanpo is a type of Otseqon condiment, a sort of thick sauce or dip. Shrimp paste and pumpkin seeds are pounded together with any of various additional ingredients. Common sanpo ingredients are:


 * Dried whole Zanthoxylum berries
 * Chilis
 * Garlic
 * Ginger
 * Fresh horseradish
 * Tari
 * Cilantro
 * Citrus juice
 * Vinegar
 * Tomatillos
 * Baked and peeled eggplant
 * Essentially anything

Sanpo is generally divided into muri sanpo (spicy-as-in-capsaicin sanpo) with chili peppers, tsazan sanpo (pungent-as-in-allyl-isothiocyanate sanpo) with horseradish, and onta sanpo (gentle sanpo) which is mild.

Sanpo can also be made with sunflower seeds in place of squash seeds. The seeds of other cucurbits are also sometimes used. Sanpo made from peanuts is fairly common on the southern boats.

Sanpo is used as a dip for vegetables, crackers, and deep-fried anything or applied as a sort of paste/sauce to grilled fish. It is one of the Otseqon foods that is eaten with essentially anything, comparable in cultural importance to lacto-fermented pickles or buckwheat flatbread.

Sanpo can be used as a flavoring base for niwas and stirfries, in which case the seeds are usually omitted.