Quick and easy

“A popular spicy noodle soup in the Peranakan cuisine, which is a combination of Chinese and Malay cuisine. It can be found in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. According to CNN Travel ranked Penang Assam Laksa 7th out of the 50 most delicious food in the world.”

Since the age of 19 I have been determined to perfect my laksa dish, I will always remember my very first attempt that ended up being a complete disaster. But through constant perseverance I simplified the laksa sauce technique with using the premade packet rather than attempting to making the sauce from scratch. Now, I make laksa on special occassions for the family or for my best friend Wibi.

You will need:

Blend the paste:
2-3 red chillies
1-2 tablespoon chilli powder
2 lemon grass
1 inch to 1 1/2 inch galangal
5-6 candlenut
1 tablespoon belachan
1 small fresh tumeric
1 tablespoon coriander powder
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Soup:
Half a packet of dried shrimp
Water from the dried prawns
3-4 tablespoon rice bran oil or vegetable oil
Handful laksa leaves/hot mint
1 coconut milk
1 chicken stock
water

Garnish:
1 packet laksa noodle/egg noodle
Prawns
Fishballs
Fish cakes
Tofu puffs
Quails egg
Cucumber
Beansprout
Otak-otak (also known as a grilled fish cake made of ground fish meat mixed with tapioca starch and spices)
Side of sambal with a pinch of salt
Wedge of lime (optional)

Finely blend the ingredients into a smooth paste. In a bowl, soak the dried shrimps in boiled water and leave aside for 10mins, separate the water and the shrimp into two bowls. With the shrimps, finely pound the shrimps using a mortar. Heat the pan on medium to high heat and drizzle a lot of oil (the blended paste is going to soak up the oil), fry the paste and season with salt and sugar, once fragrant add the pounded shrimp, the shrimp water . Add a tin of coconut milk *(2 tins is for up to 10people) and water, bring the heat to a boil then down to low heat and leave to simmer. Mix in a chicken stock and cut laksa leaves before adding the cut fish cakes, tofu puffs and fish balls. If the laksa sauce is too watery in taste, add more laksa paste for extra spice and flavour. For the garnishing, slice cucumber into batons, boil quail eggs and soften the noodles with hot water then drain into a collinder. After cut some laksa leaves and mix it into the noodles. Serve immediately.