Assam Laksa (Kedah Version)

Dunno exactly what to call it,...the Malay version or Kedah Laksa.

The differences...compared to Penang Assam Laksa...it's much sour, whereas, Penang version is on the sweet side. To add to that, they tend to blend the fish into a thick paste.

Check out the Assam Laksa Kedah version !

Prepare the laksa paste; shallots, turmeric, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, fresh chillies, dried chillies & belachan. Blend together till become paste.

Cut and clean the fish. Bring water to boil, add the fish. Boil for approximately 5min. Remove the fish and let it cool down before you blend it. Boiled the remaining bones again for another 5min. Strain the fish stock into new/clean pot.

Add the laksa paste ingredients, tamarind juice, tamarind peel & polygonum leaves, and boiled for 20min. Then add the fish flake simmer for another 30min. Salt and sugar to taste.

How to serve....add in the laksa noodles and garnish all vegetables on top. Pour the Assam Laksa soup in.

Remember to serve with a spoonful of prawn paste (Har Ko).

Ingredients

100g Shallots
30g Fresh Red Chillies
5g (10) Dried Red Chillies, soaked
30g Galangal

20g Turmeric
20g Stalks Lemongrass
10g Garlic
30g Belachan, toasted
500g Mackerel
2Lit Water
20g Polyganum Leaves (Daun Kesom)
10g Stalks Lemongrass, bruised
100g Tamarind Pulp, soaked in water

10g Tamarind Peel

250g Cucumber, cut into thin strips

100g Lettuces Leaves, cut into thin strips

50g Mint Leaves
50g Ginger Flower, sliced finely
5tbsp Prawn Paste, mixed with hot water
300g Laksa Noodles, scalded
2tsp Salt, or to taste 
2tsp Sugar, or to taste

Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice)

Authentic Nyonya-style Nasi Lemak is simply coconut milk rice served with fried anchovies and peanuts, fried tamarind fish or fried tamarind prawn, cucumber, boiled egg and THE SAMBAL BELACHAN. Trust me, nothing is complete without the Sambal Belachan.

There are many version of Nasi Lemak....the coconut milk rice itself varies,....example; the steamed coconut milk rice (Nasi Lemak Kukus) and many different side dishes, some with fried chicken, curry chicken, rendang chicken, curry squid, curry cockles....and the list goes on and on.....depends on what you prefer.

Well,...what I cooked is a mild version. Not so much of coconut milk but I emphasized on the fragrance.

Check out the simple recipe...

Coconut Milk Rice: 
Use one cup of rice, wash and drain a few times till the water is clear.
Add it one onion, one slice ginger, screwpine leaf (Pandan Leaf), a pinch of salt, water and 1/4 of coconut milk (from one grated coconut)
Cook the rice in a steamer till almost dry, sprinkle another 1/4 of coconut milk and mixed the rice well.

Fried Tamarind Prawn:
Use 600g of medium size prawn (to your likings), wash and drain.
Marinate with one handful of (50g) tamarind pulp, a pinch of salt, 1/2 tbsp of sugar for 1-2 hours.
Heat up the wok, add in some oil and in goes the prawn.
Fry till aromatic. Some might want it slightly dry and burnt, some preferred still soft and juicy. You choose ! 

Check out the ingredients for Sambal Belachan:

This is my weekend favorite.....try it !

So Much Yet So Little

Would you believe it, if I tell you all these ingredients....approximately 20+ of them and 4 hours preparing and cooking.... 

....this is all you get !!??? Imagine all the hard work, and gone within seconds into the stomach !!???

....so why cook it ? 

This dish is getting rare these days, eventhough you can find in some of the nyonya restaurants,...it no longer has the authentic taste anymore. I have xplore most of the nyonya restaurants in Klang Valley and not to my liking. Furthermore, for this small bowl you see will cost you about RM 15.00 to RM 18.00....now you know for all the hard work this is the price you pay for. 

Why so expensive ? Well, it's like chicken and egg story ! Because it's time consuming and the ingredients are hard to find,...the price is high,....so when the price is high,....people might not want to eat this....so where does this lead to....extinction !...of it's kind ! The new generation don't even know what is this !

So, before this dish disappear from our menu, I start to learn the recipe, introduce to all my food connoisseurs....and pass the recipe around. 

Try it out and share with your friends the recipe Perut Ikan.

Trust me,...no regrets !