Laksa Lemak

Personally, I don’t fancy laksa all that much. Never have. But laksa isn’t the only dish that I avoid when back home. My mother admonishes me a lot for not liking many of Malaysia’s local food: ais kacang, durian, rojak buah, all manner of bubur dessert, kueh koci, soya bean milk, and the peanut sauce that comes with your satay. However, R. simply loves laksa and he has begged me for months to make it. Since he’s been really stressed out with work-related issues lately I decided to be kind and supportive by making this for dinner. Not exactly the healthiest of options, but at least he was happy about it.

I wanted to make my laksa from scratch today but R. insisted I use the pre-packed laksa paste from the store because the last time I made this I used the paste and it tasted really good. Makes for an easy meal I guess … I wouldn’t argue over that. The recipe to make the laksa from scratch is listed below … but today I used a premix which tasted just as good and just as authentic if you add several extra ingredients to help it along the way.

Laksa Stock the easy way.

• 250 mls coconut milk
• 2 pkts laksa paste (store bought) if using from a jar, it’s about three tablespoons
• 400 mls water
• ½ cube Knorr chicken boullion
• ½ cube shrimp paste (belaccan)
• 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
• 8 kaffir lime leaves
• 8 – 10 jumbo shrimps
• 1 chicken breast, poached
• 1 hard boiled egg
• 4 deep fried tofu pillows (tau pok)
• limes to serve

Laksa Stock (if using from scratch)

• 4 – 5 red chillies. ground to a paste
• 500 g raw King prawns
• 1 cup red onion/ shallots, chopped
• 5 cm piece galangal, peeled and chopped
• 4 stems lemongrass, bruised
• 8 candlenuts**  grind with a bit of water to form a paste.
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste
• 3 tsp tumeric powder
• 2 litres water
• 500 mls coconut milk

Accompaniments:

• Fish cake
• Tou pok
• Julienned cucumbers
• Hard boiled egg
• Bean sprouts
• Fried shallots
• Sambal belacan
• Daun kesom

So what I did was heat the coconut milk in a pot along with the laksa paste. Then I added the lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shrimp paste, chicken boullion cube, water and tofu pillows. Simmer on a gentle heat for 20 minutes. Lastly add the shrimp, turn off the heat and you are done!

Soften the dried rice vermicelli in warm water and then dip them into boiling water for about 30 seconds to blanche. Place in a bowl and top with your favourite condiments like bean sprouts, fish cake, scallions, and poached chicken shreds. Garnish with spring onions and mint leaves, then pour over the hot laksa gravy and tuck in.

Enjoy!