Heart Of Malay Cuisine : Homemade Curry Laksa & Rice Paper Rolls!

Hey there! It has been long since EL the Cook has blogged, so why not start with a recipe which gives your taste-buds a BANG!

For all those who dont know a great deal about Laksa's, they are spicy noodle soups which are the heart of Malaysian Street Cuisine. They can be found all over Singapore, Indonesia and some parts of China. Their spicy freshness and burst of taste are legendary and have put South-East Asian street food on the map. 

There are 3 types of Laksa's : Curry, Asam, Sarawak. The Curry Laksa is the most widely eaten and also rated among the 50 Most Delicious Foods is the World! 

Rice-paper rolls are widely available and compliments the spicy hit of the Laksa with sweet tones of the dipping sauces, which soothes your taste-buds. They are also healthy because of no deep frying or excess oil.


Here's my Home-made Curry Laksa served with Rice Paper Rolls.

INGREDIENTS: 

 A] LAKSA (Serves 6):

• For the spice paste:

• 10 small onions/shallots, peeled and sliced
• 3 inch segment old turmeric (30 g), skinned
• 2 inch segment galangal (60 g)
• 8 stalks lemongrass (100 g), sliced
• 20 dried chillies, soaked until softened
• 4 teaspoons belacan (shrimp paste)

• For the laksa broth:

• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 1 quart prawn or chicken stock
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 20 pieces tofu puffs, scalded in hot water briefly to remove oil (see note)
• 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

• To assemble:

• 60 grams Cooked vermicelli noodles
• 200 grams beansprouts, blanched
• 1 cucumber, julienned
• 500 grams Protien of your choice ( Seafood/ Chicken)

B] RICE PAPER ROLLS (Serves 6):

• Rice Paper wrappers
• Julienned Lettuce
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons finely chopped coriander leaves
• 400 gms chopped capsicum
• 5 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon Castor sugar
• 1 tablespoon crushed peanuts
• 8 Large cooked prawns, deveined, cut in half

KITCHEN EQUIPMENT:

• Large Skillet
• Flat plate with luke-warm water
• Sharp Knife
• Soup bowls for serving
• Electric Blender

METHOD:

A] Laksa:

1. 1. To prepare the spice paste: Using an electric blender, pulse onions, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass, dried chillies, and shrimp paste until they form a smooth paste, adding a bit of water if necessary.

   2. To prepare the laksa broth: In a large skillet, heat 1/2 cup cooking oil. Sauté spice paste until fragrant. Add stock and bring to a boil. Add coconut milk, tofu puffs, and salt. Bring to a quick boil, stirring continuously. Turn off heat once broth comes to a boil.

   3. To assemble: Blanch  vermicelli in boiling water and drain. Place some  vermicelli into a bowl, garnish with bean sprouts and cucumber. Ladle hot laksa broth over with some tofu puffs. Boil your protein until cooked and drain. Add to hot laksa and leave for about a minute for flavor to permeate the protein. 

B] Rice Paper Rolls:

1. Fill a large shallow bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper on the bench and place 2 prawn halves, a handful of  mint, coriander and lettuce in a row across the centre, leaving about 5cm of the wrapper uncovered on each side.
2. Fold in uncovered sides of wrapper, then tightly roll to enclose the filling. Repeat with remaining rolls.
3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and garlic-chilli sauce.
4. In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
5. Serve the rice paper rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin-peanut dipping sauces.

Serve the laksa hot and steaming to experience Malaysia on a plate in your home!

Be sure to share with friends or family and enjoy their reactions as they slurp up the spicy, tangy blend and cool their pallete with those fresh rice-paper rolls.

Bon Apetit`!

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