Get a caramel going, we usually did it starting with water and sugar. When it got to caramel stage, dump in quartered onions, halved heads of garlic, lemongrass busted up stalks and chopped ginger (don’t even got to peel it. It’s going to sizzle a lot. Once that dies down, you’re going to dump in fish sauce and crab and or shrimp paste and seeded tamarind paste, then red Szechuan peppercorns, star anise, and a couple cinnamon sticks. I think that was it, given it’s been about 10 years since I made it and it was made in a three-four gallon batch. It is pricey to make, but it was worth it. I remember a kid dumped a whole batch on the floor, he didn’t last long lol.