PENANG ASSAM LAKSA
This evening, we had the most wonderful time preparing assam laksa, Penang-style.
Our dinner chef-guests were Cathy, Ming, Hayley, Grace, Amelia and Uni.
The above picture is Cathy's creation. :D
The above picture is Cathy's creation. :D
1. The Fish
3 kinds of fish : Parang. Tenggiri and Mabong
Boil the fish in filtered water.
No need to marinate. No need salt.
Simple, right?
2. The Soup
These are the ingredients for the soup base.
Lemon grass, shallots, bunga kantan, tumeric root, galangal,
belacan, assam jawa, assam keping, blended dried chilly paste and daun kesum.
Blend : shallots, belacan, tumeric root, lemon grass
Boil in a large pot with filtered water.
Simple, right?
3. The Garnishing
Pineapple, bunga kantan, cucumber, limau kasturi, large onions,
mint leaves, green and red chillies and heko (prawn paste).
We do not have chinese green salad (the one you use for joo hoo char)
so we're gonna romaine lettuce (cut into slim strips).
Simple, right?
Cathy, our Head Chef of Assam Laksa committee,
begins the cooking ceremony by boiling the fish.
We are allowing Bryan to take this snapshot with the assam laksa ingredients for his blog even though strictly speaking, he isn't in the assam laksa committee. He's in the DRINKS sector. :D Our order of drinks for the evening include his famous teh tarik panas, and newly added into the list are hot milo, chilled biofruity and ah, sky juice. For coffee, we have to do it ourselves.
Grace and Amelia preparing the garnishing ingredients.
The shallots, belacan, tumeric root and lemon grass
are blended before adding into the soup base.
Uni is preparing the pineapple strips.
While the soup is boiling, the girls are carefully stripping the fish to the bones.
The flesh is amazingly tasty and fresh.
No fishy smell at all. My first time tasting boiled fish on its own.
It is really, really good. :D
The garnishing is all ready ...
They are so pretty to look at ...
A lot of labor of love has gone into this ...
The noodles are ready.
2 options : laksa noodles and bee hoon
(bee hoon - the three elephant brand).
The soup is about ready. The aroma is simply tantalising.
Cathy removes some of the daun kesum and bunga kantan before adding the fish.
We sang the Birthday Song for Hayley and Uni,
and said grace before we tucked into dinner.
See dessert entry below.
See dessert entry below.
Bryan's bowl. How could anyone resist this!
We all had 2 bowls each. Everyone enjoyed the laksa very much and sounds of hmmms and oooohs and waaahhhs were echoing throughout dinner. You could appreciate e-v-e-r-y single bit of ingredient that was in it. The soup with the heko, brought by Grace all the way from Penang, was truly out of this world.
I don't normally take the fish when I have assam laksa at the shops, and would normally leave most of the ingredients in the bowl ... but THIS one is clearly head and shoulders above all the assam laksas I have ever tasted. And that is to put it mildly.
Cooking with a sprinkle of love and a pinch of joy sure makes all the difference. :D
Woah, can't believe we actually did it!
Thanks to our Head Chef, Cathy for simplifying the steps:-
I don't normally take the fish when I have assam laksa at the shops, and would normally leave most of the ingredients in the bowl ... but THIS one is clearly head and shoulders above all the assam laksas I have ever tasted. And that is to put it mildly.
Cooking with a sprinkle of love and a pinch of joy sure makes all the difference. :D
Woah, can't believe we actually did it!
Thanks to our Head Chef, Cathy for simplifying the steps:-
Penang Assam Laksa in 3 Simple Steps ...
After dinner, we rested for a bit before our Attitude Choc Cake with Ice Cream for dessert. See entry below.
We were all so thrilled with our accomplishment today that we have decided to attempt Birthday Noodles next with Curry Puffs for dessert.
Time of Posting : 11:03am (Sunday)
