Maldive fish is the Sri Lankan equivalent of South East Asia’s dried shrimp, dried anchovies and shrimp paste and the Japanese Katsuobushi. It has a concentrated aroma and flavour of the sea, much like dried shrimp but leaning more towards that of fish. Like dried shrimp, maldive fish chips are jam packed with umami flavour, a little goes a long way. Maldive fish is essentially dried and cured fish.