The pickling method of Chengkou Shrimp Paste is more complicated. In addition to the selection of ingredients and pickling, the entire brewing process needs to adjust the proportion of ingredients in time according to the weather and season. Use a mesh sieve to remove trash fish from the freshly caught hairy prawns, rinse them with sea water and drain them. If mixed with miscellaneous fish, the shrimp paste will have a strong fishy smell. Add edible salt to the drained prawns, mix well and put in a ceramic jar, and spread a thick layer of salt on the top. When cracks appear in the salt coating, it indicates that the shrimp paste has begun to ferment. Take out the salt and stir with a wooden stick or spatula with an elbow on the head twice a day in the morning and evening, which is called "stirring tank". When stirring the tank, it must be stirred up and down to make the fermentation fully and evenly, so as to avoid the deterioration of the "covering the tank" due to insufficient oxygen. The mouth of the tank should be covered, and the locals mainly use the bamboo-topped cylinder cover in the shape of a hat, which not only prevents insects such as flies and moths, but is also ventilated and breathable, and can also shield the rain. Put the sauce jar in an outdoor sunny place, and ferment it with sunlight. In summer, due to the high temperature, it can be fermented in 20 days. It takes 6 months in winter and spring.
According to the fermentation time, shrimp paste can also be divided into fresh skin paste (not fermented), half skin paste (semi-fermented), medium-sized paste (quickly fermented), and finished paste (completely fermented). The shrimp paste produced in each process can be sold at any time. After the shrimp paste is fully fermented, it has a reddish color and is called "old paste" locally.