Penang Asam Laksa

Penang asam laksa.... Sejak mula kenal menu ni di Restoran Nyonya Kitchen lama dulu saya sudah jatuh hati. Lama mencari resepinya akhirnya ketemu di http://blog.seasonwithspice.com. Terima kasih pada rakan blogger season with spice share resepi ni.

Walaupun banyak kekurangannya....takde otak udang....takde nenas tapi anak2 suka ssngat2. Berkali2 diorang menambah. Nanti pasti saya akan ulang siarannya. 

Penang Asam Laksa Recipe by Season with Spice
serves 7 - 8

Ingredients
1 kg pre-cooked laksa noodles (or thick round rice noodles) 1 kg laksa

Ground spice paste (rempah kisar)

15 fresh red chilies and 10 dried red chilies (or 3 tbsp freshly ground chili paste)
15 biji cili merah dan 15 biji cili padi merah atau boleh guna 3 sb cili kering kisar

10 shallots
10 biji bawang merah

6 cloves garlic
6 ulas bawang putih

1 inch of galangal
1 inci lengkuas

2 cm knob of fresh turmeric
2 cm kunyit hidup

2 stalks lemongrass, minced (use the white part only)
2. Batang serai (hiris) - gunakan bahagian putihnya sahaja

1 1/2 tbsp belacan (dried shrimp paste), or if in block form, use 3/4 of a block
1 1/2 sb belacan

Soup (kuah)
For cooking fish: (untuk merebus ikan)

15 cups water
15 cawan air

3 stalks lemongrass, lightly smashed (white part only)
3 batang serai - titil/ketuk

1 torch ginger flower, quartered
1 kuntum bunga kantan - belah 4

3 inches of galangal, halved
3 inci lengkuas - hiris

1 1/2 kg (about 15 fish) fresh mackerel, horse mackerel, fresh sardine, or yellowtail kingfish - cleaned and gutted
1 1/2 kg ikan sardin/kembung/selar - bersihkan

1/3 cup tamarind juice (mix tamarind pulp in hot water for five minutes before squeezing it to obtain the juice)
1/3 cawan jus asam jawa

5 pieces tamarind peel (asam keping or asam gelugor)
5 keping asam gelugur

6 stalks Vietnamese mint
6 tangkai daun kesum

3 tbsp sugar or to taste
3 sb gula atau secukup rasa

Salt to taste
Garam secukup rasa

Garnishing
Pelengkap

1 cucumber, thinly sliced into strips
1 batang timun - hiris lidi

Chinese lettuce, sliced
1 biji salad bulat - hiris

1/2 medium size fresh pineapple, sliced into small pieces
1/2 biji nenas - potong kecil (tak letak...tak sempat cari)

2 red onions, thinly sliced
2 biji bawang besar - hiris

Handful of mint leaves (daun pudina)
Dayn pudina

1 torch ginger bud, finely sliced
1 kuntum bunga kantan - hiris

3 red chilies, thinly sliced
3 biji cili merah - hiris

2 green bird's eye chilies, thinly sliced
2 biji cili padi - hiris

Condiments:
Perencah:

Calamansi lime
Limau kasturi

Sweetened prawn paste (heh ko sauce), diluted with laksa soup or water
Otak udang/petis

Process:
Cara2nya

1. Blend spice paste ingredients into a fine paste.
1. Kisar bahan rempah hingga lumat.

2. Heat a pot of water and add lemongrass, galangal, torch ginger flower. Bring to a boil and then add fish. Boil on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is cooked.
2. Panaskan air di dalam periuk. Masukkan seeai yang dititik, hirisan lengkuas dan bunga kantan. Biarkan mendidih. Masukkan ikan. Rebus selama 15 - 20 minit atau hingga ikan masak dengan api sederhana.

3. Transfer cooked fish to a bowl and let cool. Strain broth to remove spices. Add to the broth the Vietnamese mint, tamarind juice and tamarind peel and continue to boil on low heat.
3. Keluarkan ikan dan masukkan ke dalam mangluk. Biarkan sejuk seketika. Tapiskan air rebusan untuk mengeluarkan bahan2 lain. Masukkan air rebusan ke dalam periuk semula dan masukkan daun kesum, aor asam jawa dan asam keping. Renihkan dengan api kecil.

4. Break the fish meat into tiny pieces, but keep some in bigger chunks.
4. Koyak2kan isi ikan biarkan besar2 (aritu kakak tolong koyak2 tapi dia cubit kecik sangat.

5. Add the fish flakes back into the pot, along with the spice paste.
5. Masukkan isi ikan kembali ke dalam air rebusan tadi.

6. When it reaches a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes to one hour. While simmering, add salt and sugar to balance the spiciness and sourness for your taste.
6. Bila dah mendidih, kecilkan api dan biarkan merenih selama 40 minit. Perisakan dengan garam dan gula secukup rasa.

7. Rinse laksa noodles in cold water and strain. Place one serving of noodles into a bowl, and pour laksa soup with fish flakes over the top.
7. Saya celur laksa dengan air panas dan toskan. Kemudia siram dengan air sejuk. Tos kering. Masukkan laksa secukup ke dalam mangkuk. Tuangkan kuah dan isi ikan.

8. Top with garnishing, and serve with a spoonful of shrimp paste if you like.
8.  Taburkan bahan pelengkap dan hidangkan dengan otak udang jika suka.

Enjoy the five tastes – sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami – of Penang Asam Laksa!

Notes:
1. If you prefer your asam laksa soup to be less sour, cut down on the tamarind peel or tamarind pulp. If you like it to be spicy, add more chili to your spice paste. For a more pungent flavour, use more shrimp paste (belacan and heh koh).
2. Hawker stalls tend to use low quality local mackerel (ikan kembong) in asam laksa. When making the dish at home, you can use a better quality fish like horse mackerel (ikan selar kuning), fresh sardine, or yellowtail kingfish (ikan pelata).