Laksa Lemak (Nonya Laksa)

Nonya laksa is a spicy noodle dish which originates from the Peranakan culture (a mix of malay & chinese) and is very popular in Singapore in Malaysia.  This dish is also known as Laksa Lemak. There are various types of laksa available and I will post them as and when I prepare them.  For this dish, I am using my late grandmother's recipe who herself was a mixture of chinese, malay and japanese. Kindly note that one can adjust the consistency of the gravy to one's liking.

Ingredients (serves 4 persons):

Spices to blended or pounded:

1 medium onion, to be sliced        

2 pips garlic, to be sliced

a small piece (or 1 tsp) belacan (shrimp paste)

5 slices lengkuas, to be skinned and sliced

5 pieces candlenuts (buah keras), to be soaked in hot or warm water

5 stalks dried red chillies, to be cut in 1 cm strips and to be soaked in hot or warm water

3 cm fresh turmeric, to be skinned and sliced (or ½ tsp turmeric powder)

2 lemongrass, to be sliced

40 g dried prawns, to be soaked in hot or warm water

5 stalks fresh red chillies, to be unseeded and sliced (depends on the hotness of the chillies)

1 tin (400 ml) coconut milk

2 cubes chicken stock

1 litre water or enough water to reach one's preference of consistency

salt to taste

a few stalks of laksa leaves, to be plucked

2 tsp sugar

300 g fresh prawns (without shells) or frozen raw prawns

300 g spaghetti or yellow noodle, to be cooked according to packet instructions

Garnishing:

cucumber (optional), to be shredded finely

soya beansprouts, tails to be removed

fishballs (frozen and thawed), to be cooked in boiling water shortly and left whole or sliced

dried tofu, to be cut into cubes (note:  I was unable to buy any - instead, I deep-fry some tofu)

4 hard-boiled eggs, to be halved

laksa leaves

Method:

Add 2 tsp sugar to fresh prawns (or thawed frozen prawns) and put aside.  Heat 4 tbsp oil in a pot and fry pounded (blended) ingredients until fragrant.  Add a little laksa leaves.

Then add water and chicken stock and bring to a slight simmer.  If needed, more water can be added.  Add coconut milk and reduce heat.  Season with salt to taste.  Simmer gravy over low heat until oil can be seen on the surface.

Heat a little oil in a small pan and stir-fry the prawns until they change colour.  Remove to a plate. Once the gravy is ready, add the fried tofu, fishballs, prawns and some laksa leaves.  Let it simmer before removing from heat.

To serve, add a portion of noodles in a bowl.  Then, add some beansprouts and shredded cucumber (optional).  Pour gravy over noodles and garnish with one half of hard-boiled egg.

Bon Appetit!