Asam Laksa 亞參叻沙

Asam laksa (asam meaning tamarind in Malay) also popularly known as Penang laksa, is a lesser know member of the laksa family outside of Malaysia and Singapore. It is a fish and tamarind-based noodle soup believed to be invented in the "street food capital of Malaysia", Penang. Not a lot is written about the origin of this wonderful dish; I personally think it definitely has a southern Thai connection as the taste and ingredients used are very similar to keang som (sour orange curry) which I'll be posting during my next "Thai food festival @ the tummies' kitchen". If you have tasted Trengganu laksa, Kelantan laksa or Perlis laksa (laksa from all 3 northern Malaysian states bordering Thailand) which are all fish and tamarind-based laksa with very similar toppings but with additional of coconut milk, you might be wondering about the Thail connection too.

We might have lots of Malaysian eateries here in Melbourne but a very good asam laksa is still a rarity, so making this at home seems like a wonderful idea. Ginger flower, fresh mackeral (wolf herring is the prefered choice in Malaysia), Vietnamese mint and tamarind peel are just some of the essential ingredients for this dish; some recipes substitute fresh fish meat with canned sardine but I think it is worth

to spend an exta 10 minutes picking the fish for a fresher and more rounded tasting dish.

A quick shopping trip to Victoria Street to pick up all the necessary ingredients; not the most wonderful day to be on a bicycle but I couldn't stop to think how lucky we are to have such easy access to all these wonderful ingredients for making authentic Asian food so closed to home!!!

P.S adapted from the food section on Kwang Hwa Daily (a Penang based Chinese daily). If you read Chinese have a look, it is full of recipes, food ideas and what food craze malaysian are eating at the moment! http://kwongwah.com.my/supplement/202/

makes 8 serves as a very satisfying one dish meal;

for the broth you'll need;

1kg of the freshest mackeral you can lay you hands on, boiled and picked

8p pcs of tamarind peel (asam keping/gelugor) pictured above

6 tbs of tamarind paste (asam jawa)

10 stalks of Vietnamese mint (daun kesom)

4 l of water

Boil fish in boiling water for 5 minutes, remove fish, strain stock and add in the rest of the ingredients. Add spice paste (recipe follows) and bring to a boil, then simmer for 30 minutes. Add in flaked fish just before serving.

for spice paste you'll need

500g of shallots, chopped

4 stalks of lemongrass, chopped white part only

10 red chilies, chopped

10 dried chilies, soaked and chopped

small knob of turmeric

a small piece of shrimp paste (belachan)

you'll also need;

1 cucumber, jullienne

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 ginger flower (bunga kantan 薑花), thinly sliced - pictured in the second photo

1/2 a pineapple, skinned, eyes removed and sliced

2 red chilies, sliced

a handful of mint leaves

lime wedges

1kg of laksa noodle (lai fun 瀨粉)

5 tbs of prawn paste (petis udang 蝦膏）diluted with some hot water - pictured in the second photo

Laksa broth bubbling away for 40 minutes. Remove solids and add flake fish just before serving.

Place blanched noodles in a bowl and pour the fragrant hot fish broth over.

Add toppings.

Drizzle some prawn paste over and mix everything up!! Makanlah!!!