Laksa Kampung Siglap a.k.a. Laksa Johor

I love eating laksa, any kind of laksa.... Nyonya,  Johor or even Penang laksa. But I seldom cook it as my family is not really a great fan of laksa. Besides, cooking laksa requires a lot of work, so I'd normally have to satisfy my craving for laksa only when I'm eating out. Even then, I try not to have this calorie-laden noodle too often.

My early memories of laksa is when I was living in Kampung Kembangan in the 70s. I remember my mother would often call the travelling laksa hawker into our house compound. It was often a young man who would be carrying  two large baskets, filled with the ingredients & gravy for the laksa, hung on the two ends of a bamboo stick. I was just talking to my mum about this & it turned out that it was not always the same guy who came to sell. Apparently, these men were selling laksa which was prepared by a lady who lived in Kampong Siglap (which was not very far from Kampung Kembangan). Hence the name Laksa Kampong Siglap. However, the laksa is actually laksa Johor (except that spaghetti is used for laksa Johor) but because it was this lady from Kampung Siglap who popularised it in Singapore (at least in the eastern part), it's called Laksa Kampung Siglap. 

I also just found out my mother loves eating laksa so much that, during our kampung days, she had laksa for teatime almost everyday! It was so cheap.....only 10-30 cents a bowl, depending on how many pieces of laksa cap you want. (Laksa cap refers to the homemade laksa noodle strands which are formed into oval- or bun-shaped pieces. Please look at the laksa noodle that I made before to see what I mean.) Now in Singapore, Laksa Kampung Siglap is not as widely available as the Nyonya laksa. For sure you can get it from Geylang Serai Market, but I like to have my laksa fix at Mukmin Restaurant in Bedok. 

Laksa Kampung Siglap (a.k.a. Laksa Johor)

1 kg laksa noodle
300g bean sprouts (tauge)
laksa leaves (daun kesom) - diced*
cucumber - cut into strips*
*for garnish

GRAVY
Ingredients:
150g fresh prawns
400g fresh Japanese Mackeral (Ikan Kembong) or Wolf Herring (Ikan Parang)
2 tbsp ground toasted grated coconut (kerisik) - You can buy or make it yourself like this.
3 tbsps fish curry powder
250ml coconut milk (If using fresh grated coconut, squeeze milk from 1 coconut.)
1000ml water (combined prawn & fish stock & plain water)  
1 handful laksa leaves (daun kesom)
3 pieces asam gelugor or asam keping
salt - to taste
3 tbsp cooking oil

Grind to fine paste:
3 cloves garlic
2 medium onions
2 cm galangal (lengkuas)
3 lemongrass stalks (serai) - white part only
2 tbsp dried prawns -rinsed & soaked
1x3-cm-piece dried salted threadfin fish (ikan kurau) - rinsed & soaked

Method:

1. Boil fresh prawns in some water until they are cooked. Then remove the prawns from water, de-shell & pound or blend flesh. Keep the stock for the gravy.
2. Boil the fish in some water. Remove the fish from water, de-bone & flake. Set aside. Keep stock for the gravy.
3. Heat up oil in a saucepan. Combine ground paste & curry powder. Sauté until dry & fragrant.
4. Add in water, coconut milk, flaked fish & pounded prawn, kerisik, laksa leaves, asam gelugor & salt. Stir frequently until the gravy starts to boil. Then leave gravy to simmer. Adjust the thickness of gravy by simmering longer for thicker broth or adding more water for thinner broth.

CHILLI PASTE
100g dried chilli
salt to taste
- Soak dried chilli in hot water until soft. Rinse with clean water. Then, pound or grind chilli to fine paste. Add salt.

TO SERVE:

1. Blanch some laksa noodle in boiling water. Drain & place in a bowl. Top it with tauge. 
2. Pour gravy & garnish with daun kesom, cucumber & chilli paste.

I'm linking this post to Asian Food Fest #11 Sept 2014 : Singapore, hosted by Grace Phua of Life Can Be Simple.

Mee Siam

Yesterday, I cooked  mee siam for the family. This time, it's the Malay version. Unlike Mee Siam Mamak,  this version is more commonly found in eating outlets here in Singapore. Just look for any Malay stalls that sell rice or noodles & they are likely to sell mee siam.

Mee siam is different from the regular fried bee hoon. While the latter is dry,  mee siam is served with sweet, sour & spicy gravy. For this recipe, the noodle is cooked using mainly onions for its flavour. So you definitely need to add the gravy when serving in order to relish the robust flavour of Mee Siam.

Mee Siam

For the fried mee:
300 g dry rice vermicelli
150g bean sprouts (tauge)
20-30 dried chilli (cut & soaked till soft)
2 medium onions
3 cloves garlic
salt to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

1. Soak rice vermicelli in a big bowl of water until soft for about half an hour. Drain & set aside.
2. Blend chilli, onions & garlic to become paste. (Add water if needed.)
3. Heat oil & sauté blended ingredients until fragrant. Add salt.
4. Add vermicelli & fry until cooked.
5. Add bean sprouts & fry for a few more minutes. Remove from fire & set aside.

For the gravy:
300g  fresh prawns - shelled & set aside the heads
20-30 dry chilli - soaked until soft.
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
3 tbsp dried shrimp - soaked till soft
1 tsp belacan (shrimp paste)
3 tbsp taucu (fermented soya beans) - rinsed & mashed coarsely
2-4 pieces of asam gelugur (You may replace this with tamarind paste.)
4-5 cups of water
1/2 cup toasted peanuts - skinned & coursely ground
1/4 cup sugar
salt to taste
3 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

1. Combine prawn heads & some water in a pot & cook until boiling. Strain & set aside the water. Throw the heads away.
2. Combine chilli, onions, garlic, dried shrimp & belacan & blend to became paste. Add water if necessary.
3. Heat oil in a pot. Sauté blended ingredients until fragrant.  Add in taucu & continue frying.
4. Add in water (including the prawn head stock), prawns, asam gelugur, peanuts, sugar & salt until the gravy is boiling. Reduce heat & leave gravy to simmer. Add more salt, sugar &/or asam gelugur, if necessary.

For garnishing:
hard-boiled eggs
chives (kucai) - chopped
small limes - cut
fried tofu (bean curd) - cut into small pieces

To serve:

1. Place fried mee in a bowl.
2. Pour gravy onto the mee.
3. Garnish & serve.

Notes: You may adjust the amount of any of the ingredients to your liking, especially the chilli, salt, sugar & asam gelugur. The amount of water used also depends on how thick you want the gravy to be.

Adapted from Junaidah Jaafar's recipe from Resepi Pesta Perut.

I'm linking this post to Asian Food Fest #11 Sept 2014 : Singapore, hosted by Grace Phua of Life Can Be Simple.
I'm also linking this post to Cook-Your-Books event no. 16 hosted by Kitchen Flavours.

Mee Siam Mamak

Lunch on Friday was Mee Siam Mamak. This Indian Muslim version of Mee Siam is not as commonly available as the Malay version. Naturally, it's usually served by the Indian hawkers, usually those selling Indian Rojak. 

I decided to cook this dish to use up the leftover chives in the fridge. It is quite similar to the Malay Mee Siam except it's richer  because of the coconut milk added. Another difference is in the way the beehoon is prepared. While the Malay version requires that the beehoon be fried with some spices, the Mamak version just needs the beehoon to be cooked in boiling water mixed with turmeric. That's so much simpler!

Mee Siam Mamak 
Recipe by Mdm Gayah Samon.
Source: EATS by Hedy Khoo,  The New Paper On Sunday (7 October 2012)

Ingredients:
400g dried beehoon ( I used brown rice beehoon.)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt (I added.)

100g raw peanuts
200ml coconut cream
3 pieces asam keping/gelugur
85g sugar
2 litres water (I used only 1.5 litres.)
salt to taste (You may not need this since the tau cheo is already quite salty.)
6 tbsp cooking oil

Spicy mix:
10 dried chilies
3 purple onions
6 garlic cloves
120g udang geragau kering (dried shrimp)
120g tau cheo (fermented soya bean), rinsed

Garnish:
5 limes, halved
5 hardboiled eggs. halved
6 stalks koo chye (garlic chives) - cut into small pieces (about 1cm long)
5 pieces tau pok (fried beancurd puffs), toasted & cut into 1-cm squares

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil & fry peanuts over low heat for 10 minutes or until cooked. Grind coarsely & set aside. (You may set aside some before grinding for garnishing.)
2. Grind the ingredients for the spice mix into a smooth paste. (I didn't grind the tau cheo. Instead, I just mashed it coarsely.)
3. Heat remaining oil & fry the spice paste until fragrant & the oil surfaces.
4. Add the ground peanuts & fry a little more.
5. Add the two litres (I used 1.5 l.) of water. Stir & bring to a boil.
6. Lower the heat & stir in the coconut cream. Allow the mixture to simmer for another five minutes.
7. Now prepare the beehoon. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the beehoon. Bring to boil & add half a tsp of turmeric powder & salt. Add in the beehoon & boil for two or three minutes until soft.  (I soaked the beehoon in cold water first. When it's already soft, I boiled a pot of water & added the turmeric & salt, then I blanched the beehoon.) Strain & set aside.
8. To serve, put some of the boiled heehoon in a bowl, add the mee siam gravy. Garnish with a halved hardboiled egg, some tau pok pieces, halved lime, garlic chives & some ground peanuts.

Mee Rebus - Perak-style

Today's lunch was Mee Rebus, Perak-syle.... I've been meaning to cook this dish since my husband bought me A Taste of Batu Gajah on our recent trip to KL. Just like the Penang-style Mee Rebus, the noodle is served with rich & spicy tomato-based broth. In Singapore, this noodle is referred to as Mee Bandung.  But this one is different as it uses dried cuttlefish, my favourite! The rich flavour of this noodle is derived from the combination of the ribs & 3 types of seafood. My siblings found the rich meat flavour a little overwhelming....  I agree with them... I would reduce or just do away with the ribs, in future.

Some notes & modifications:

1. I made only half the recipe & it made a big pot.
2. When serving, instead of pouring the gravy over the blanched noodle, I heated up some gravy & added the noodle, bean sprouts & chye sim. I cooked it for a few minutes. Then I lowered the fire & broke an egg & cooked the noodle until the egg is half-cooked.
3. The combination of tamarind & tomato juice produced quite sour gravy. So I added some sugar to balance the sour with a little sweet flavour. I also omitted the limes.

Mee Rebus - Perak-style
Recipe by Datin Norsiah Bakhiri 

from A Taste of Batu Gajah, Traditional Malay Family Recipes by Datin Seri Raihan Abdul Rahman.

( I made only 1/2 of the recipe below.)

Ingredients:
1 kg yellow noodles, scalded or 1 pkt spaghetti, cooked according to instructions.
300g bean sprouts, cleaned & trimmed
300g chye sim (sawi) - cleaned & trimmed - I added.
6 pieces soft bean curd, deep fried & sliced
8 hard-boiled eggs, halved - I didn't cook the eggs beforehand.
500g fresh cockles, blanched & shelled - I didn't add.

Gravy
2 kg beef ribs
2 tbsp seedless tamarind paste or 2 tbsp asam jawa (tamarind pulp) mixed with 1/2 cup water, seeds discarded
500g sotong kering (rehydrated cuttlefish), cleaned & cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 kg medium-sized fresh prawns, cleaned & shelled
8 tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 potatoes, boiled, drained & mashed
2 litres store-bought tomato juice
8 cups of water for stock
3 cups of water
8 shallots*
4 cloves garlic* (*pounded)
4 tbsp cili boh (ground chilli paste)
2-square inches belacan ( shrimp paste), roasted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cooking oil
4 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbsp sugar - I added.

Garnishing
1 cup crispy fried shallots
1 cup green chillies, sliced thinly - I added.
1 cup daun sup (Chinese celery), finely chopped
1 cup daun bawang (spring onions), finely chopped
1 cup kalamansi limes (halved) - I didn't use as the gravy is already quite sour.

Method:

1. In a pot, boil the beef ribs in 8 cups of water for at least 2-3 hours until the stock is reduced by half & the meat is soft. Remove the bones, trim off the fat from the meat & set aside the stock.
2. Heat the oil in a large pot & fry the pounded ingredients until golden.
3. Add in the ground chilli paste & tamarind paste, cover & cook over medium heat until the chilli paste is cooked.
4. Add in 2 teaspoons of salt then pour in the beef stock. Cover & allow to boil fro 5 - 10 minutes.
5. Add the tomato wedges & again, let the gravy boil while covered for another 10 minutes.
6. The cuttlefish pieces go in next. Cover the pot & let the cuttlefish release its juices.
7. Add the tomato juice & 2 tsp of salt, stir gently & let the gravy simmer for about 5 minute.
8. Add the prawns. Prawns take very little time to cook so be careful not to overcook them.
9. Finally, add in the mashed potatoes to thicken the gravy & give it that familiar mee rebus flavour. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes then check the taste before removing form heat.
10. Divide the noodles, bean sprout, bean curd, eggs & cockles into individual serving dishes, pour the gravy over & sprinkle with garnishing.

I'm submitting this post to the Malaysian Food Fest ( Perak Month ) hosted by Wendy of Table for 2 .. or more &  Cook Your Books No 3 organised by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.

Fried Hokkien Mee, KL Style

I cook noodles more often during the month of Ramadhan. This is on top rice & the accompanying dishes, normally two types. My husband has to have rice everyday. But my kids get quite sick of rice all the time. And since my whole family eats at home for iftar (breaking of fast) almost everyday, the spread on the dining table tend to be wider during the fasting month. There are also the drinks (hot & cold) & at least one type of Malay kuih. 

I suspect this is a typical dining setting for many Muslim homes, judging from conversations I had with family & friends. Also, if you are in Singapore & Malaysia, you will notice the hives of activity at the food bazaars in the void decks or along the road.  Well, since we can't eat or drink for more than 13 hours in this hot & humid whether, food & drink are always on our mind. 

I fried Hokkien mee a few days ago. It's quite a simple dish to prepare but very delicious. My noodle turned out quite dry & hard... I think I did not add enough water..

Fried Hokkien Mee, KL Style
Recipe by Betty Yew from Rasa Malaysia, the complete Malaysian cookbook.

Ingredients:
150g small prawns
5 small cuttlefish, cut into rigns
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oil
3 shallots, sliced
120g chicken fat, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices fish cake
3-4 stalks mustard green, cut into 5cm lengths
450g fresh yellow noodles
 2 cups water
1 tbsp dark thick soy sauce
1/2 tsp msg (I didn't use.)
a few leaves lettuce, cut into strips (I didn't use.)

Method:

1. Season prawns & cuttlefish with sesame oil, pepper & light soy sauce. Leave aside.
2. Heat oil in a kuali & brown shallot. Remove & put aside. Reheat kuali & chicken fat. Fry until crisp. Remove fat crisps with a perforated ladle. Leave oil behind.
3. When kauli is smoking hot, add minced garlic, seasoned prawns, cuttlefish & fish cake slices. Add mustard greens, stir-fry for a few seconds. Put in noodles & fry for 2 minutes.
4. Add water, dark thick soy sauce & msg. Stir to combie sauce & cover kuali for 1 minute. Remove cover & add shallot crisps & fat crisps.
5. Serve hot, sprinkled with lettuce strips & accompanied with a smal dish of Sambal Belacan.

Sambal Belacan:
(5 x 5 x 1/2) cm dried shrimp paste (belacan)
8 red chillies
3 small limes

1. Roast dried shrimp paste in a clean pan over low heat till fragrant &, while hot, pound with red chillies until smooth. 
2. Put into a small dish & squeeze in lime juice.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest Kuala Lumpur Selangor Month hosted by Shannon of Just As Delish.

I'm also linking this post to Cook-Your-Books #2 hosted by Joyce of  Kitchen Flavours.

Mee Rebus - Penang style

I hope you are not Penang food overload... hehe. I promise, this will be my last entry on Penang food.... for now. 

I made  Mee Rebus using the recipe shared by Wazir Jahan Karim. As I read the recipe, I realised that this dish is actually what we in Singapore &, I believe, southern part of Malaysia call Mee Bandung. Nevertheless, I still wanted to try  cooking it. Yes, it is very similar to our Mee Bandung except this dish is richer because there is milk & cream added to the cream of tomato soup.

Mee Rebus (Penang style)
Recipe by Wazir Jahan Karim from Feasts of Penang, Muslim Culinary Heritage.
(I've rearranged the ingredients & simplified the method.)

Ingredients:
1 kg yellow noodles (blanch)
200g bean sprouts (remove tails & blanch)
1 kg beef or mutton bones
2.5L water (for beef or mutton stock)
300g medium-sized red or orange sweet potato (Boil until soft, peel & mash into an even paste.)
200g potato (Boil until soft, peel & mash into an even paste.)
6 red chillies*
20 shallots*
12 cloves of garlic*
(*blend to become paste)
5 tomatoes (chopped)
1 tbsp ginger juice
600 ml cream of tomato soup concentrate
5 sprigs coriander leaves (Separate leaves from stems & use leaves for garnish.)
250g squid (Clean & remove ink. Then boil in water.)
500ml water (to boil squid)
500ml water for soup
6 tbsps palm or rice oil
salt to taste

Garnish:
6 large hard-boiled eggs
6 sausage-long pieces of crispy cucur udang (slice) - I didn't use.
6 sprigs mustard leaves with soft stem (sawi) ( Soak with salt, wash & chop into 2cm strips.)
3 sprigs spring onions (chop)
5 sprigs coriander leaves (chop)
6 tbsps fried shallots
3 pieces tofu or bean curd (Fry & cut into cubes.)
3 fresh red chillies (Remove seeds & white pulp & slice on a slant.)

Method:

1. Boil beef or mutton bones in 2.5 litres water for an hour or until tender. An equivalent amount of water should be added if the water (stock) is reduced to half after boiling. If a pressure cooker is used, it should take about 20 mins. If pressure cooker is used, add in rest of water when meat is cooked. Transfer beef or mutton with stock into a clean deep pan, after removing foam & impurities 
2. Add in the sweet potato, potato, chopped tomatoes, chilli, shallots & garlic paste, ginger juice & cream of tomato. Stir evenly & allow gravy to boil.
3. Add squid & stock & 500ml water for soup. Then add coriander stems & salt. Reduce fire & allow to simmer.
4. To serve, place noodles first, add beans sprouts & mustard leaves. Pour in gravy. Garnish with cucur udang, tofu pieces, one hard-boiled egg, fried shallot, coriander leaves, spring onions & sliced red chilli .

Serves 6 persons.
Preparation time: 90 mins.
Cooking time (gravy): 60 mins.

I'm submitting this post to the Malaysian Food Fest, Penang Month hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies & Cook-Your-Books organised by Kitchen Flavours.

Homemade Laksa Noodle

For the past few years, my mother will always make laksa noodle herself instead of buying it from the market. She said that that was what she used to do long, long time ago, before she was even married. You see, my late grandfather liked to invite guests over for meals. Of course, at that time, the guests would be served with home cooked food. So, my mother & late grandmother would cook the noodle, accompanied by a big pot of laksa gravy. Imagine the work involved..... stoneground spices, self-grated & self-squeezed coconut milk... I'm not surprised if the rice flour was also stone ground at home. And the noodle maker is the big type, the one that requires a person to push the handle while walking around the big pot. I recall seeing that equipment before we left our kampung house..

My mum's habit has kind of rubbed off on me... I've been wanting to make laksa noodle myself & finally, a few days ago, I did it! Not  bad for a first time...  Will I ever make it again..? Yes, at least one more time. This time, the muruku maker that I used requires a lot of energy, so it was quite challenging. But I want to try using another type of muruku maker (see pictures below). My mum said it's easier. I'm not giving up yet, haha!

Homemade Laksa Noodle

Starch:
70g tapioca flour
80ml tap water
150ml boiling water

Combine tapioca flour & tap water in a bowl & mix thoroughly. Pour in boiling water & stir until starch is formed. My starch is white in colour. It's supposed to be colourless. My mum said that the water I used was not hot enough ( I actually used the hot water from the dispenser). But it's ok if it's white. Set aside.

Dough:
300g rice flour
80g tapioca flour
1 tsp salt
150ml hot boiling water (You may not need all, so adjust accordingly.)

Combine flour & salt & mix thoroughly. Add in starch & continue mixing. Add in hot water bit by bit & mix until a pliable dough is formed. Set aside.

To cook noodle:

1. Boil a big pot of water.
2. Place some dough into a muruku maker. Press it directly into the boiling water.
3. Once the noodle floats, remove from pot using a strainer & place noodle into a bowl of cold water. 
4. Remove the cooled noodle & place it onto a tea towel. Leave to dry.

The flour that I used.

The tapioca flour & water mixture.

.... after adding hot water, starch is formed.

The dough...

Cooked noodle on the tea towel...

This is the type of muruku maker that I used. It's quite challenging using it.  My mum is right...

Picture taken from Baking Frenzy.

My mum said it's better to use this type. I will definitely use this one the next time.

Picture taken from Loyang & Acuan.

Truely Homemade Asam Laksa

Laksa is not one of my family's favourite food. So I seldom cook it at home since that entails buying a host of ingredients & spending quite a bit of time in in the kitchen. It doesn't feel like it's worth it. So, I usually cook it  when I'm receiving guests or I would cook & share it with my mum who happens to be a laksa fan. My mum would go one step further... besides preparing the gravy, she would also make her own laksa noodle... yes, the white & thick noodle.

Asam Laksa not commonly found in Singapore. Even if you find one, quite likely, it's not up to your expectation. So whenever I go to Malaysia, I would try to eat it at least once.

Since it's the school holidays, I can afford to spend more time in the kitchen. So,  a few days ago, I cooked Asam Laksa. I also made the noodle myself. So we had a truely homemade Asam Laksa. 

Asam Laksa
Recipe by Chef Wan from The Best of Chef Wan, A Taste of Malaysia.

Ingredients:

300g thick rice vermicelli (I used homemade laksa noodle.)

Garnish:

2 red chillies, seeded & thinly sliced

2 green chillies, seeded & sliced

2 torch ginger buds, thinly sliced

15-20 laksa leaves, finely sliced

20 mint leaves

2-3 leaves lettuce, finely shredded (I didn't use.)

6 kalamansi limes, halved

1/2 pineapple, peeled & thinly sliced

1 hard-boiled egg, peeled & quartered

4 tbsp black prawn paste (hae ko) - I didn't use.

Gravy:

500ml water (I added more.)

4 pieces dried sour fruit (asam gelugor)

15 laksa leaves

2 torch ginger buds, halved lengthwise

1.5 kg (I used 1kg only.) mackerel fish, cleaned, boiled, deboned & coarsely pounded

salt to taste

sugar to taste

Spice paste:

30 dried chillies, soaked in hot water, seeded & drained

15 shallots, peeled

2 galic cloves, peeled

1 tbsp dried prawn (shrimp) paste (belacan)

Method:

1. Combine ingredients for spice paste in a food processor & blend until smooth.
2. Prepare gravy. Put the spice paste, water, dried sour fruit, laksa leaves, torch ginger buds & fish into a pot. (I added more water to the  gravy.) Bring to the boil & season with salt & sugar. Allow gravy to simmer until it thickens slightly.
3. To serve, place vermicelli into bowls & pour gravy over. Top with the remaining ingredients & serve immediately.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Penang Month hosted by Alan of Travellingfoodies.