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:
- Combine ingredients for spice paste in a food processor & blend until smooth.
- 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.
- 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.
4 comments:
Oh my, you even made your own noodles.
A true labour of love.
Wendy, it's all about passion.:)
Hi I like assam laksa too. Any good stall in the east Singapore to recommend ?
For near instant assam laksa, try ChanHong brand of spices available fr Sheng Siong. All you need to add is a tin of sardin. Its very good too. Taste good..better than those sold in some stalls.
Hi there. I've tried once at Gurney Dr Restaurant at Century Square. It's quite good. I'll take a look at the spice you recommend. Thks.
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