Laksa

Curry laksa (in many places referred to simply as “laksa”) is a coconut-based curry soup. The main ingredients for most versions of curry laksa include tofu puffs, fish sticks, shrimp and cockles. Some vendors may sell chicken laksa. Laksa is commonly served with a spoonful of sambal chilli paste and garnished with Vietnamese coriander, or laksa leaf, which is known in Malay as daun kesum.
This is usually known as "Curry mee" in Penang rather than curry laksa, due to the different kind of noodles used (yellow mee or bee hoon, as opposed to the thick white laksa noodles). Curry Mee in Penang uses congealed pork blood, a delicacy to the Malaysian Chinese community. Two of the well known places to try curry mee is at Lorong Seratus Tahun and Chulia Street.[citation needed]
The term "Curry laksa" is more commonly used in Kuala Lumpur or Singapore. Laksa is popular in Singapore and Malaysia, as are laksa yong tau foo , lobster laksa, and even plain laksa, with just noodles and gravy.
Variants of curry laksa include:
Laksa lemak, also known as nyonya laksa (Malay: Laksa nyonya), is a type of laksa with a rich coconut gravy. Lemak is a culinary description in the Malay language which specifically refers to the presence of coconut milk which adds a distinctive richness to a dish. As the name implies, it is made with a rich, slightly sweet and strongly spiced coconut gravy. Laksa lemak is usually made with a fish-based gravy (with vegetarian food stalls omitting fish) and is heavily influenced by Thai laksa (Malay: Laksa Thai), perhaps to the point that one could say they are one and the same.
Laksam, a speciality of the Northeastern Malaysian states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, is made with very thick flat white rice flour noodles in a rich, full-bodied white gravy of boiled fish and coconut milk. Though usually made of fish flesh, it is sometimes made with eels. Traditionally laksam is eaten with hands rather than with eating utensils due to the gravy's thick consistency.[4]
Katong laksa (Malay: Laksa Katong) is a variant of laksa lemak from the Katong area of Singapore. In Katong laksa, the noodles are normally cut up into smaller pieces so that the entire dish can be eaten with a spoon alone (that is, without chopsticks or a fork). Katong laksa is a strong contender for the heavily competed title of Singapore's national dish.[citation needed]
[edit]Asam laksa
Asam laksa is a sour fish-based soup. Asam (or asam jawa) is the Malay word for tamarind, which is commonly used to give the stock its sour flavor. It is also common to use "asam keping" also known as "asam gelugor", dried slices of tamarind fruit, for added sourness. Modern Malay spelling is asam, though the spelling assam is still frequently used.
The main ingredients for asam laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung fish or mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillis, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, "daun kesum" (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint) and pink bunga kantan (ginger buds). Asam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). And topped off with "petis udang" or "hae ko" (蝦羔), a thick sweet prawn/shrimp paste.
Variants of asam laksa include:
Penang laksa (Malay: Laksa Pulau Pinang), also known as asam laksa from the Malay for tamarind, comes from the Malaysian island of Penang. It is made with mackerel (ikan kembung) soup and its main distinguishing feature is the asam or tamarind which gives the soup a sour taste. The fish is poached and then flaked. Other ingredients that give Penang laksa its distinctive flavour include lemongrass, galangal (lengkuas) and chilli. Typical garnishes include mint, pineapple slices, thinly sliced onion, hε-ko, a thick sweet prawn paste and use of torch ginger flower. This, and not 'curry mee' is the usual 'laksa' one gets in Penang.
Perlis laksa' (Malay: Laksa Perlis) is similar to Penang Laksa but differs in garnishing used such as catfish and eel fish. The famous Perlis laksa can be found in Kuala Perlis.
Kedah laksa (Malay: Laksa Kedah) is very similar to Penang laksa and only differs in the garnishing used. Sliced boiled eggs are usually added to the dish. Kedah laksa used rice to make a laksa noodle. The famous laksa in Kedah is Laksa Telok Kechai.
Ipoh laksa (Malay: Laksa Ipoh), from the Malaysian city of Ipoh, is similar to Penang laksa but has a more sour (rather than sweet) taste, and contains prawn paste.
Kuala Kangsar Laksa (Malay: Laksa Kuala Kangsar), made of wheat flour (usually hand made). The soup is rather lighter than the common laksa taste and so much different from Ipoh Laksa in shape, taste and smell. The local municipal council even built a complex called "Kompleks Cendol dan Laksa" near the river bank of the Perak River. It is the main attraction for tourists in Kuala Kangsar.
[edit]Other variants
Several variants mix together coconut milk and fish and can be identified as either curry or asam laksa.
Johor laksa (Malay: Laksa Johor), from Johor state in southern Malaysia, resembles Penang laksa only in the kind of fish used but differs in everything else. Johor laksa has coconut milk, use 'kerisik', dried prawns, lemon grass, galangal and spices akin to curry. The garnishing comprises slices of onion, beansprouts (taugeh), mint leaves, Vietnamese coriander or 'daun kesum', cucumber and pickled white radish. Sambal belacan (a kind of chili paste) is placed on the side. Finally, just before eating, freshly squeezed lime juice is sprinkled on the dish. Unique to Johor laksa is its Italian connection - spaghetti is used instead of the normal rice noodles or vermicelli. Johor laksa is traditionally eaten using the hand and the noodles are usually knitted (cetak) into a disk for each serving.
Sarawak laksa (Malay: Laksa Sarawak) comes from the town of Kuching in the Malaysian state Sarawak, on the island of Borneo. It is actually very different from the curry laksa as the soup contains no curry in its ingredient at all. It has a base of Sambal belacan, sour tamarind, garlic, galangal, lemon grass and coconut milk, topped with omelette strips, chicken strips, prawns, fresh coriander and optionally lime. Ingredients such as bean sprouts, (sliced) fried tofu or other seafood are not traditional but are sometimes added.
Kelantan laksa (Malay: Laksa Kelantan) is the easiest laksa recipe that is famous among peoples from the town of Kota Bharu of the Kelantan state, located at the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The main ingredient of Kelantan Laksa's sauce is 'ikan kembong' or round scad mackerel that are boiled and minced. The minced fish are fried with onions, garlic, ginger, datil pepper, belacan, 'kantan' flower, Vietnamese coriander or 'daun kesum', lemon grass and dried tamarind slice. Coconut milk will then be added as the final ingredient and stirred until it all mixed up and become thick. Kelantan Laksa is served just like the Italian spaghetti by adding 'ulam' (raw vegetables) and blended chili on the side. Another variable of Kelantan Laksa is 'Laksam'. The sauce's recipe are exactly the same but the noodles are a bit bigger and flat.
Bogor Laksa (Indonesian: Laksa Bogor) probably is the most famous Laksa variant in Indonesia from Bogor town, West Java. The thick yellowish coconut milk based soup is a mixture of shallot, garlic, kemiri (candlenut), kunyit (turmeric), ketumbar (coriander), sereh (lemongrass), and salt. The hot soup runs, drained, and filled several times into the bowl contains bihun (rice vermicelli), ketupat (glutinous rice cake), smashed oncom (similar to tempe but different fungi), tauge (bean sprout), kemangi (basil leafes), cooked shredded chicken and prawn, boiled egg, until all the ingredients is soft and cooked. Usually Laksa Bogor is served with sambal cuka (grinded chilli in vinegar).
Betawi Laksa (Indonesian: Laksa Betawi) is a Laksa variant from Jakarta, Indonesia. The thick yellowish coconut milk based soup is a mixture of shallot, garlic, kunyit (turmeric), lengkuas (galangal), sereh (lemongrass), salam leaf and kaffir lime leaf, ginger, pepper, and contains rebon (dried small shrimp) to gave the unique taste. The dish contains ketupat (compressed rice cake wrapped in young coconut leaf), tauge (bean sprout), kemangi (Indonesian basil leaf), and boiled egg.

Lontong

Lontong is an Southeast Asian dish originally from Indonesia also known as (Malay: Nasi Impit or Nasi Himpit), and literally means compressed rice.
Lontong is often referred to as the plain compressed rice roll itself, but it is served as an accompaniment to other dishes. Lontong is traditionally made by boiling the rice until it is partially cooked and packing it tightly into a rolled-up banana leaf or plaited coconut leaf. It is then boiled until the rice is compacted. When cooled, it is then cut into small bite-sized cakes.
Lontong may be served in a coconut milk and vegetable stew gravy similar to Sayur Lodeh, and topped with sambal chili paste, toasted coconut (kerisik) and hard boiled egg. Dried shrimp or dried anchovies (ikan bilis) and fresh shrimp can also be added. Suitable vegetables for the stew gravy with coconut milk are cabbage, long beans, cauliflower, carrots, Turnips, zucchini, peas, Butternut squash, Eggplant, Mushrooms, Snow peas, bamboo shoots, Potatoes, broccoli and Broccolini or asparation (a cross between Broccoli and Chinese Kale (Kai Lan or Gai Lan).
Cooked Cellophane or Glass noodles (Tang Hoon/冬粉 dōng fěn), and bean curd (tofu) can be added for a substantial & satisfying vegetarian dish.
In Indonesia and Malaysia, the dish is usually served cold or at room temperature with sauce-based dishes such as gado-gado and salads, although it can be eaten as an accompaniment to other dishes such as Satay and curries. It is also used in Soto as an alternative to vermicelli noodles.
Alternative ways of cooking lontong in modern days include placing uncooked rice into a muslin bag then letting the water seep in and cause the rice to form a solid mass (Ingram, 2003).

Char Kway Teow

Char kway teow, literally "stir-fried ricecake strips", is a popular noodle dish in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The dish was (and still is in some places in Malaysia) typically prepared at a hawker stall.
It is made from flat rice noodles (河粉 hé fěn in Mandarin Chinese) of approximately 1 cm or (in the north of Malaysia) about 0.5 cm in width, stir-fried over very high heat with light and dark soy sauce, chilli, a small quantity of belachan, tamarind juice, whole prawns, deshelled cockles, bean sprouts and chopped Chinese chives. The dish may commonly be stir-fried with egg, slices of Chinese sausage and fishcake, and less commonly with other ingredients. Char koay teow is traditionally stir-fried in pork fat, with crisp croutons of pork lard, and commonly served on a piece of banana leaf on a plate.
Char kway teow has a reputation of being unhealthy due to its high saturated fat content. However, when the dish was first invented, it was mainly served to labourers. The high fat content and low cost of the dish made it attractive to these people as it was a cheap source of energy and nutrients. When the dish was first served, it was often sold by fishermen, farmers and cockle-gatherers who doubled up as char kway teow pedlars in the evening to supplement their income.
In Indonesia, the dish is served in Chinese restaurants and traveling street hawker, and locally known as Kwetiau Goreng (Indonesian: fried flat rice noodles). The Indonesian char kway teow is less oily, using no lard, and normally incorporating beef or chicken to cater the majority Muslim population. However, some Chinese restaurants in Indonesia do use pork fat.

Curry fish head

In Malaysia and Singapore , Fish head curry (Chinese and Indian roots) is a dish where the head

of an Ikan Merah (literally "Red fish"), is semi-stewed in a thick curry

with assorted vegetables such as okra and brinjals and usually served with either rice or bread.

In Orissa and Bengal (Bangladesh and West Bengal) where the staple is rice and fish, one very popular fish

head curry is made with moog orung beans but other vegetables can also be used. The gravy is very thick

and very spicy and the Rui fish (Rohita) is most popular for this.

Tamarind (asam) juice is sometimes added to the gravy to give it a sweet-sour taste (see asam fish); this

variety of fish head curry normally has a thinner, orange gravy. It is a dish of relative popularity amongst

Malaysians and Singaporeans and their tourists, although it is generally not categorised as

cheap hawker fare.

Ooo la la so shiok claypot rice

Yummy wanton mee for u la