Penang Assam LAKSA

Laksa is basically a spicy, noodle dish with soup. It comes in many forms & variations, depending on the area it originates from or the ethnic background of the people. The soup is usually made with fish, with a few exceptions. Fish meat is mixed into the soup to make it thick.

In the north, the Penang Chinese have the famous sour, spicy & fishy Assam Laksa (recipe is given below - traditional & vegan) using white, soft, translucent rice noodles (lai fun).

The Thais have a similar type of noodle and sold fresh in small coils. When we were staying in Alor Setar (almost near the Thai border), my dad will buy back these noodles on his regular visits the the border towns. Mom & all of use will be waiting patiently with a pot of the fiery, aromatic soup!

Note: Quite some time ago, there was a scare when some people & children died after consuming the noodles. It was traced to the over-use of boric asid in the making of this noodle. There were also rumours of unscruplous vendors adding toilet paper & chicken feed were added for extra flavour & bulk & of course, make a high profit! This prompted one organic cafe/shop to advertise their Assam Laksa as made from REAL FISH!

The Malays have a thicker, soup made of fish & the white rice noodle is stiffer and breaks easily. Cashew nut leaves (young shoots) were chopped & used as garnish.

The Kelatanese (in the east coast) have Laksan (not sure how that is -- will let you know after my trip to Kota Bahru, capital of Kelantan this Sept). Possibly a cross between assam laksa but with santan (coconut milk), influenced by the Thais.

The Chinese laksa (mainly in the central area) is santan, red curry-based with yellow noodles, with cockles & curry chicken. The most different of the rest.

In the south (Johor), spaghetti is used and it has a fish-based soup & vegetable topping is eaten RAW (!), including taugeh (mung bean sprouts). This gives a unique taste, quite an acquired taste. They have a special way to cut the cucumber, in thin circular strips. Needs some skill & lots of practice to master it!

Alternatively, you could check out Laksa Shack, a home-grown franchise, for its many types of laksa.

ASSAM LAKSA
500 gm Lai Fun (translucent, fresh white rice noodle) or dried thick beehoon (soaked until soft). Boil a pot of water. Blanch the noodles only a few minutes (longer if dried noodles used). Do not over cook. Its ok if under-cooked, as the hot soup later will continue to cook it when you pour it over the noodles. Strain & set aside.

Spicy soup :
1. Grind these into a fairly fine paste (grounded paste):
4 large red onions - cut into cubes
10 dried red chillies - soak in water until soft
3 stalks serai/lemongrass - sliced coarsely only first 6-8cm part
1 inch fresh kunyit/tumeric - sliced coarsely
1 inch fresh ginger (young/old) - sliced coarsely
A small piece of belacan (2cm x 2cm x 1cm)

2. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add :
grounded paste

2 stalks of daun kesom / 'chen hom' in Hokkien (leaves & stalk)

5 stalks of daun pudina /'poh hoh' in Hokkien / mint (leaves & stalk)

2 pieces of assam keping

1 tbsp assam jawa extreme (Adabi)

or 1/2 fist-sized assam jawa (original) mixed in a 1/2 cup water & squeezed to release the sticky paste & remove seeds

leftover serai stalks, bunga kantan stalks, pineapple 'hard spine' for added flavour

3. Let boil. Then simmer for 1o minutes. Add :
8 small ikan kembong/fish - cleaned & gutted

Bring to boil again. Cook for 5 mins. Then remove the fish onto a plate. Carefully separate fish from its bones. Keep half of the amount as garnish and pour the rest back into the soup. Cook for another 10 mins.

4. Taste & adjust seasoning - salt. Add a little sugar if the soup is too sour or wait until you add 'Har ko' (slightly sweet shrimp paste) when serving.

Garnish/topping :
1 stalk Bunga Kantan (flower part only - finely sliced
1 piece of pineapple (remove hard spine for soup, slice into strips)
1 pc red chillie - sliced
3 pc small green chillie padi (extra spicy)
2 pcs limau kasturi / calamansi or lime - halved
1 large onion - sliced finely
20 slices of cucumber - cut into strips
A handful of mint leaves (stalks removed)
A can of 'har ko' - dark, thick shrimp paste ('hea koh' in Hokkien) .. see the blue can in the pix -->

Serving :

Heat up the soup. Half-fill deep bowls with rice noodles. Arrange in this order - mint leaves, cucumber strips, pineapple strips, bunga kantan, chillies & top with some cooked fish. Dip a dry spoon into the 'har ko' and scoop a little and place in the bowl. Lastly, pour hot soup over it & serve. If it's not sour enough, squeeze half a limau kasturi (remove pips).

MY VEGAN version

Serves one vegan 8-)

In a small pot, boil 2 cups water. Put in a few pieces of konbu (thick Japanese seaweed - RM2 /pkt @Jusco) or seaweed paste (from vegetarian grocers) & simmer until konbu is soft. Lightly break or cut a piece of hard tofu into smaller pieces. Add to the soup. Add 2 tablespoons of freshly ground chillie paste (as above, but leave out the belacan). Add assam (or juice of 1 limau kasturi) & let it simmer. Add a little soya sauce and sugar. Adjust to taste. It can be a light strong, because once poured into the bowl, the noodles will dilute the taste.

Assemble the ingredients as above & pour the soup over it. Much of the taste & aroma comes from the herbs & chillie paste and garnishes. Konbu (thick seaweed) gives it a bit fishy flavour. For a more fishy taste, serve with a teaspoon of Biosoft seaweed (from Taiwan) -->

SLURP UP! :P