Penang Assam Laksa

Assam laksa is one of Penang's famous street food. The silky smooth rice noodle in hot and spicy fish soup is garnished with lots of fresh veggies and served with prawn paste as condiment. The contribution of mint leaves, ginger bud, laksa leaves, pineapple, lemon grass, tamarind juice, belacan, onion and cucumber gives the assam laksa a distinctive flavor. It's pungent, sweet, sour and spicy. It's mouth-watering indeed. Gosh, I'm addicted!

I'm sharing the dish with Presto Pasta Nights #188, which is hosted by Ruth from Once Upon A Feast.

Penang Assam Laksa

serves 4-5

Ingredients:

1kg fresh laksa noodle
5 mackerel fish, gutted and cleaned
a ping pong ball sized of tamarind, mixed with 200ml water, strained and retain the juice
3 tbsp of chili paste

(A)
2 liter water
15 sprigs of laksa leaves
half ginger bud, sliced into 4
3 stalk of lemon grass (the white portion), lightly smashed with the back of clever knife
                                   2 onions and 1.5cm cube of belacan, blended
Seasonings
brown sugar
salt

Garnishing
mint leaves
half bunga kantan, chopped
1 cucumber, cut into strips
quarter of a small pineapple, peeled and cut into steps
1 1/2 tbsp of shrimp paste diluted with 2 tbsp of hot water

Steps:
1. Put ingredient (A) in a pot. Bring to a low simmering boil for 2 minutes. Continue to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the mackerel fish and bring to boil for 10 minutes or until cooked.

2. Remove the fish from the soup and leave it cool. Then flake the fish, break into pieces and return to the soup. 

3. Add chili paste and sieve in the tamarind juice and leave it simmers under low heat. 

4. Flake the fish, break the flesh into pieces and return to the soup. 

5. Add seasoning to taste. Continue to simmer for 1-2 minutes.

6.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. Add a little of each garnish. Pour laksa soup over the noodle and garnish. Drizzle a little prawn paste over and serve hot.