Penang asam laksa

I love a good laksa. I had my first laksa about 30 years ago, but in Singapore. I was travelling for work, and my team took me out to laksa for dinner. I have had a love affair with the dish ever since. I went back home to Chicago and bought Sri Owen’s cookbook, just for the laksa recipe. It was a dish that I loved so much that I decided to learn how to cook it. I would grind the pastes, gently fry them, and make the soup. My family, at that time, knew when laksa was being made; they would crowd around the table as soon as it was ready. Over the years, I have had (and made) numerous soups that define nations: ramen from Japan, Khao sway from Myanmar, Pho from Vietnam, Tom yum and Khao sai from Thailand, Kimchi-jjigae from Korea, and more. To me, laksa is still my favourite.

So on their trip to George Town, Malaysia, I could not leave until I had at least one bowl of laksa. It was a must-have for me. After some research and talking with the hotel and my guide, we decided on My Own Cafe, renowned for its laksa asam.

But let's take a step back and understand the origins of laksa. This dish is filled with history and legend. The origins can be traced to the Peranakan culture, also known as the Baba-nyona community. The Chinese traders who migrated to Malaysia intermarried with local women, both Javanese and Malay. The cuisine that developed with the mixing of these two communities is called Nyona. The cuisine is elegant and one of my favourites.

The Chinese immigrants brought wth them soups and noodles, and the Malay influence added spices, chillies, lemongrass, galangal, coconut milk, and tamarind as a souring agent. Together, these components formed a phenomenal fusion cuisine, diverse in both variety and flavour.

Laksa can be roughly broken up into a few styles:

• Laksa lemak (Malaysia): This laksa uses coconut milk as the soup base. It also has a stronger curry profile, usually spicier and richer.

• Laksa asam (Malaysia): This is a light and clear stock flavoured with tamarind for sourness. The laksa is lighter and fresher. The laksa is traditionally flavoured with poached and shredded mackerel, giving the soup a fishy flavour.

• Laksa Johor (Malaysia): made with spaghetti instead of noodles, as the King travelled internationally and fell in love with spaghetti.

• Laksa Sarawak (Borneo): a rich sambal laksa with coconut milk and belacan (shrimp paste).

• Laksa Betawi (Indonesia): made a yellow-ish broth with candlenuts and oncom (fermented soy cake).

• Laksa Katong (Singapore): A thick coconut milk soup with a grainy texture from the aromatics and dried shrimp. Also, traditionally use short-cut noodles, so you eat the laksa only with a spoon.

Over the years, I have sought out recipes, stalls, and restaurants, and gone for just the laksa, always diving into a deep bowl of soup; it never ceases to make me happy.

This is a lovely dish that plays with tart and spicy. The noodles are the body of the soup, and the broth is tantalising. This is a must-have soup.

Mandy Yin is a London-based lawyer who started her foray into the world of food with the Sambal Shiok restaurant. Sambal Shiok translates to "shockingly good sambal", and this book follows these steps with excellent recipes. The recipes swing from traditional to contemporary while maintaining wonderful flavours. This is a lovely cookbook for those who want to venture into the complex world of Malay cooking.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the spice paste:

10-12 red chillies, roughly chopped, or to taste

1/2 onion, diced

12 garlic cloves

1/2-inch of galangal

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 inches of lemongrass

1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste

1/2 teaspoon salt

3-4 tablespoons water

For the soup:

10 cups of water

4 1-inch pieces of lemongrass stems, lightly pounded with a mortar

1-inch galangal, sliced

8-10 oz. mackerel or other fish, filleted into 8 pieces

2 teaspoons salt

6 stems laksa leaf

3 tablespoons tamarind concentrate

3 tablespoons palm sugar or jaggery

Salt, to taste

Round Vietnamese rice noodles

To garnish:

Cilantro, minced

Scallions, finely sliced

Cucumber, finely sliced

Fresh pineapple, cut into fine dice

Mint leaves, roughly torn

Red chilli, finely diced

Lime wedges

Method:

To make the spice paste:

Add all the spice paste ingredients to a small blender and blitz until very smooth. Set aside.

To make the soup:

Add the soup ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the fish is cooked through. Scoop out the fish and set aside. Strain the soup, keeping the stock and discarding the spices. Set aside.

Bring the stock back to a boil, then add the spice paste, laksa leaf, tamarind, sugar, and salt. Remember, we have added salt to both the paste and the stock. Mash one mackerel fillet with a fork, removing any bones, and add it to the soup. Simmer for 20 minutes. Taste the broth for tartness and salt; it should have a sourness, mild sweetness, and a pop of spice. Remove the laska leaves.

Cook the Vietnamese rice noodles as per the instructions on the packet, minus one minute for al dante. Drain and cool under running water. Set aside.

Serve hot in individual bowls with a scoop of noodles. Top with a fish fillet. Serve the garnishes on the table, allowing your guests to customise their bowls to their palates.