Cooking your own Assam Laksa (Asam Laksa) at home is not difficult but quite time-consuming as there are a lot of ingredients needed to yield a pot of delicious Laksa soup.
What does Assam Laksa taste like?
Assam laksa is a Malaysian/Singaporean dish made with sweet and spicy thick, slightly unctuous broth. Its prominent feature is the addition of assam (tamarind), which gives it tangy and sour flavours. This rich, spicy and sour soup is full of flavour, with an emphasis on hot and sour. Studded with fish, assam laksa is the perfect choice for a cold day or when you’re feeling under the weather.
Check out our Nyonya-style asam pedas as well.
CHINESE VERSION: 亚参叻沙/阿三叻沙
Assam Laksa (Asam Laksa) | MyKitchen101en
Yields: 12 servings
Ingredients:
Ingredients for Laksa soup:
- 1 kg kembung fish (cleaned)
- 3300 ml water
- 200 g red chilies + 200 ml water (blended)
- 300 g shallot (pounded)
- 50 g garlic (pounded)
- 50 g galangal/lengkuas (pounded)
- 4 g (2-cm) turmeric/kunyit (pounded)
- 7 stalks lemongrass/serai (pounded)
- 7 pcs bird’s eye chilies/cili padi (halved)
- 1 stalk torch ginger flower/bunga kantan (halved)
- 100 g Laksa leaves/daun kesum
- 500 g pineapple flesh chunks
- 30 g tamarind pieces/asam keping
- 100 g tamarind paste/asam Jawa
- 12 g belacan
- 1 large (425 g) canned sardine
- 8 1/2 tbsps sugar
- 2 tsps fine salt
- 1 cube ikan bilis stock granule
- 7 1/2 tbsps lemon juice (about 2 lemon)
Ingredients for serving:
- 1.8 kg Laksa noodles
- 1 head (100 g) lettuce (shredded)
- 100 g onion (shredded)
- 1 (200 g) cucumber (shredded)
- 250 g pineapple flesh strips
- 1 stalk torch ginger flower (flower only, chopped)
- adequate bird’s eye chilies (cut)
- 50 g mint leaves
- 100 g thick prawn paste + 3 tbsps hot water
Instructions:
For Laksa soup:
1 Bring 3300 ml of water to the boil in a large pot, turn to medium heat, cook kembung fish for 10 minutes. Drain cooked fish, remove flesh from fish. Break fish bones into smaller pieces.
2 Blend red chilies with 200 ml of water until fine. Pound shallot, garlic, galangal, turmeric and lemongrass.
3 Add fish bones, blended chilli, pounded ingredients, bird’s eye chilies, ginger flower, pineapple, daun kesum, tamarind pieces, tamarind paste and belacan to fish stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to low heat, cover and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.
4 Remove ingredients from the stock, then strain the stock through a sieve.
5 Bring strained stock to the boil, add in kembung flesh, canned sardine, sugar, salt, ikan bilis stock granule and lemon juice.
6 Bring to the boil again, then off the heat.
For Laksa serving ingredients:
1 Blanch Laksa noodles with hot water, then rinse until cooled with water.
2 Shred lettuce, onion and cucumber. Cut pineapple flesh into strips. Chop ginger flower. Cut bird’s eye chilies.
3 Dilute thick prawn paste with 3 tbsps of hot water.
To serve:
1 Put Laksa noodles in deep serving plate, top with shredded ingredients, pineapple strips, chopped ginger flower and bird’s eye chilies.
2 Add in Laksa soup with fish flesh, garnish with mint leaves. Serve hot with diluted prawn paste if desired.
Assam Laksa (Asam Laksa)
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Ingredients
For Laksa soup:
- 1 kg kembung fish cleaned
- 3300 ml water
- 200 g red chilies + 200 ml water blended
- 300 g shallot pounded
- 50 g garlic pounded
- 50 g galangal/lengkuas pounded
- 4 g turmeric/kunyit 2-cm pounded
- 7 stalks lemongrass/serai pounded
- 7 pieces bird’s eye chilies/cili padi halved
- 1 stalk torch ginger flower/bunga kantan halved
- 100 g Laksa leaves/daun kesum
- 500 g pineapple flesh chunks
- 30 g tamarind pieces/asam keping
- 100 g tamarind paste/asam Jawa
- 12 g belacan
- 425 g canned sardines 1 large can
- 8½ tbsps sugar
- 2 tsps fine salt
- 1 cube ikan bilis stock granule
- 7½ tbsps lemon juice about 2 lemon
For serving:
- 1.8 kg Laksa noodles
- 100 g lettuce 1 head shredded
- 100 g onion shredded
- 200 g cucumber 1 piece shredded
- 250 g pineapple flesh strips
- 1 stalk torch ginger flower flower only, chopped
- adequate bird’s eye chilies cut
- 50 g mint leaves
- 100 g thick prawn paste + 3 tbsps hot water
Instructions
For Laksa soup:
- Bring 3300 ml of water to the boil in a large pot, turn to medium heat, cook kembung fish for 10 minutes. Drain cooked fish, remove flesh from fish. Break fish bones into smaller pieces.
- Blend red chilies with 200 ml of water until fine. Pound shallot, garlic, galangal, turmeric and lemongrass.
- Add fish bones, blended chilli, pounded ingredients, bird’s eye chilies, ginger flower, pineapple, daun kesum, tamarind pieces, tamarind paste and belacan to fish stock. Bring to the boil, reduce to low heat, cover and cook for 1 hour 30 minutes.
- Remove ingredients from the stock, then strain the stock through a sieve.
- Bring strained stock to the boil, add in kembung flesh, canned sardine, sugar, salt, ikan bilis stock granule and lemon juice.
- Bring to the boil again, then off the heat.
For Laksa serving ingredients:
- Blanch Laksa noodles with hot water, then rinse until cooled with water.
- Shred lettuce, onion and cucumber. Cut pineapple flesh into strips. Chop ginger flower. Cut bird’s eye chilies.
- Dilute thick prawn paste with 3 tbsps of hot water.
To serve:
- Put Laksa noodles in deep serving plate, top with shredded ingredients, pineapple strips, chopped ginger flower and bird’s eye chilies.
- Add in Laksa soup with fish flesh, garnish with mint leaves. Serve hot with diluted prawn paste if desired.
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