Foodie

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Asam Laksa

The ingredients for the ground spices are not readily available here, so i make my asam laksa using Hup Loong Asam Laksa and for the fish, canned sardines and tuna. If I am back in Malaysia i will certainly cook asam laksa following the recipe below.

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Ingredients:

A)
Ground spice ingredients
15 fresh red chillies
15 dried red chillies
150g shallots
10 cloves garlic
40g galangal (lengkuas)
2cm knob fresh turmeric root
1 tsp belacan stock granules

(B)
4 tbsp tamarind paste (asam jawa), mixed and strained to obtain tamarind juice
300ml water
10 sprigs polygonum leaves (daun kesom)
3 pieces dried tamarind skin (asam keping)
3 stalks lemon grass, lightly smashed
1.8 litres water

(C)
1 kg mackerel (ikan kembung) or horse mackerel (ikan selar kuning), cleaned
1 cup water
1 kg fresh laksa noodles

Seasoning
2 tbsp sugar or to taste
Salt to taste

Garnishing
1 wild ginger bud (bunga kantan), halved and finely shredded
1 cucumber shredded
1/2 pineapple, sliced and shredded
1 onion, finely sliced.
2 red chillies, seeded and sliced
A few sprigs mint leaves (daun pudina)
Prawn paste (har koe), diluted with water to a drizzle consistency


Method:

Boil fish in just enough water. When cooked, remove the fish and strain the stock. Then flake the fish and set the fish aside.

Put tamarind juice, ground ingredients (A), water and fish stock in a pot.

Add polygonum leaves, dried tamarind skin and lemon grass. Bring to a low simmering boil for 10 minutes.

Add the flaked fish and seasoning to taste.

Continue to simmer for an extra 10 minutes.

To serve, put a handful of laksa noodles in a metal strainer and immerse in a pot of boiling water to scald the noodles for half a minute.

Drain and put into a bowl.

Pour a ladleful of laksa soup or gravy over the noodles and garnish with a little of each garnish.

Drizzle a little prawn paste over and serve immediately. You can also serve the prawn paste separately.

The easy way out to Asam Laksa

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cook according to instructions, add sardines and adjust taste. Must be sour, sweet and salty.

ENJOY


Serves

30 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi lily, i love reading your blog. thanks for sharing.

incidentally, may i know what is ground spices that u mentioned???

TIA

cheers
dragonfly

Unknown said...

dragonfly

the recipe for the ground spices are in A: When i was back in malaysia, i made a huge batch for my consumption here in the states. I have even cooked B into a batch for asam dishes and a batch with daun kunyit, daun limau perut and serai for rendang. When i ran out of homemade, i will turn to the commerical packed ones and they are pretty good and easy

Edith said...

I love this noodle but I had the impression that it is hard to prepare. Lily, can move over to singagpore?

jadepearl said...

I love asam laksa!
Wah...I think its a lot of prep. work, huh?
Kudus to ya!

Anonymous said...

oh dear, excuse me, i am so blur, now i know. silly me. thanks!

rgds
dragonfly

Unknown said...

edith

use the hup loong asam laksa premixed or brahim's asam pedas. You know your own tastes, adjust accordingly. Used canned sardines which is readily available in singapore. will post pics.

Anonymous said...

Lily

Marry me so I can at least die a "FAT" and happy man. I Wish my wife has your cooking skills!!

Yat

Anonymous said...

Hi Lily,

I enjoy your blog immensely and all your recipes are soooo yummy. Reminds me terribly of home!

You said that you actually prepare some ingredients in Malaysia and bring it back to US. Could I ask how you pack these items and has the US custom/immigration ever made a fuss/prevented you from bringing foodstuff into the US?

I am currently living in New Orleans and will be going home in a few days. Would love to be able to bring Malaysian ingredients / foodstuff back but am worried that they will be confiscated!

Thanks a bunch!!

paws

Anonymous said...

I've just discovered your blog. Wow, it has a lot of wonderful Asian recipes. I was born in Singapore, now living in Miami, US. Do you know how we can find "Daun Kesom" here? Thanks a bunch.

Unknown said...

mrs huller

i could get daun kesum from the vietnamese/thai asian stores and i am sure you can get them too in miami.

the ready mixed asam laksa are very good, give them a try and you can get them from http//:mytasteofasia.com

Hazel said...

hi! i just chanced upon your blog while viewing recipes for asam laksa.. this is a nice blog. I look forward to trying your recipes. One of the things I enjoy doing here in malaysia right is exploring the country's food specialties.

hazel

Anonymous said...

This is the first time I hear garlic being used in asam laksa. Will try and see what happens :)

Yes Hup Leong is a good choice! Cheers to Hup Leong.

pixen said...

Hi Lily, wonderful blog and recipes! Thank you for sharing... I have 1 question though. It's difficult to find ikan kembung or selar in Europe...:-( The sardines are oily to my liking but I have no choice the last time I had my Laksa Craving. I can't even find my fav Ayam Brand Sardines here. All they have are pilchards (adult sardines) in tomato sauce which doesn't at par with Ayam Brand... Is there any other substitute for the normal fishes we used in Laksa?

Another thing is the Bunga Kantan, some of my friends suggested to dried it after mincing the flower. Can I dry daun kesum as well. I'm not sure if the taste of the herbs would be as great as when they are fresh...:-( Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

pixen

Anonymous said...

Hi, Im a Malaysian student, currently studying in UK. I miss assam laksa so much... Just by looking at all the pictures you post, makes me feel soooo hungry!! I find it very difficult to obtain certain ingredients here, wow...I am sooo impressed that you manage to cook so many delicious Malaysian delicacies in US. Very impressed!!! I am sooo going to show your blog to my friends :)

eHeart said...

Hi,
I am from Penang, Malaysia and now in St Louis, USA. I missed Penang asam laksa very much. I had cooked laksa used Hup Leong ground spices but I not like it. My friend in NY sent me a pack of laksa sauce and after I tasted, I would like highly recommend it to you. Please go to visit my blog: http://lktansinee.blogspot.com/2007/12/eating-penang-asam-laksa-in-america.html
If someone who know can get 'Chan Hong laksa sauce in Asian store at St. Louis, MO, please let me know. Tks.

Unknown said...

iktan_sinee

thanks for the suggestion. will try to get chan hong laksa sauce.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this recipe, I first tasted Asam Laksa at a stall in KL (Tmn Melawati to be precise), then again in Georgetown, Penang. Both were delicious, and I cant wait to try your recipe!

Anonymous said...

Dear Auntie Lily,
You have posted a photos of two types of premix, Hup Loong and Brahim. Do you have a preference?

Unknown said...

lee ping

if you are cooking for a crowd then the Hup loong but you would have to grind onions while the brahim is used straight but with more tamarind juice as the packet is actually for asam pedas. i like this if i am cooking for the 3 of us, the soup is just enough.

Anonymous said...

Dear Auntie Lily,
Thanks for the explanation. Just made Assam Laksa yesterday. Only used a little of the Hup Loong spice.

Everyone, including the children who was eating it for the first time, loved it! I guess the additional tomato ketchup did the trick.

Anonymous said...

Hi Lily,

Just found your site today as I was searching for Acar recipe. I'm in NC, USA. I'm really glad to stumble upon your site as I see LOTS of yummy M'sia dishes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! :) Truly bring back memories!

I use the Hup Hoong Laksa spice myself as it is quite difficult to get all the spices to make the Laksa from scratch. I used to make it with canned tuna or sardine, even canned markeral sometimes. Then hubbie complain it's too "fishy" smelling, which I agree. So I use fresh frozen tilapia fillet instead, and it makes a big difference. No more "chow choh" (fishy smell) smell! Thought I'd share that.

Pat

Unknown said...

pat

thanks for the tips.

Anonymous said...

Hello Hello !
I have a jar of asam laksa paste sent by my friend in Msia and i have been keeping for months - sayang wanna makan...hehe

Not to spoiled or risk spoiling it , i was wondering

1. Instead of Laksa noodle which i cant find it here , what are the next best substitute ? - Udon ???

2. Mackeral- are there many types of mackeral. The ones i tried here is very salty. doesnt taste anything like kembung...??

Unknown said...

lynn

i am to cheating nowadays, i use canned sardines and tuna for assam laksa.

i am sure if you go to a vietnamese store you will be able to get the noodles. our asian stores have so many choices, the noodles come in sizes like t-shirt - s m l

Unknown said...

lynn

try and get the xl - they are better for assam laksa

myfertilitydiary said...

Hi,
i am assam laksa lover, will try out this recipe tomolo!!

Shan said...

HI Lily,
I am from singapore. And I really miss malaysian food. Do you know of any places in St louis? shantakumari@gmail.com

Unknown said...

shan

we too have no malaysian food, so the next best thing is to cook them at home

Anonymous said...

Hi Lily, loved your blog. Your Assam laksa recipe is brilliant. Can I ask you if I can use your ground spice for Assam fish or assam prawn recipe? If not, what other recipes can I use the spices for?

Unknown said...

anonymous

absolutely, this goes well with all sorts of seafood

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