Wednesday 4 May 2016

Sarawak Laksa


Hee...hee...hee...hee... I finally got to taste Sarawak Laksa! Courtesy of Mr Arthur Wee! Look look what he sent me.



These arrived on 22-04-2016, 6 tubs of Liza's ready made pastes. There were 3 tubs of Perencah Hitam (Black Paste) and 3 tubs of Perencah Laksa (Laksa Paste).


I was delighted to say the least. Thank you, Arthur! You are very kind and generous indeed. I am going to have a blast cooking with these made in Sarawak pastes.


Last weekend, I was raring to go. I opened up a tub of laksa paste. The paste was neatly packed in plastic and it was clean. There was none of that stickiness/oiliness that you get from some packaged ready made pastes. There was also no smell whatsoever.


When I cut open the package, I noted that it was wrapped in two layers of plastic. Then I took a sniff. Wow! Very aromatic. This is going to be good.

The directions for masak hitam and laksa are the same hee..hee...
Luckily Arthur provided me with instructions.
I started off by boiling some chicken legs. When these were cooked, I removed them and blanched some peeled prawns. These were also removed and set aside. Then in with the prawn shells and heads. I let it boil for a while.

This is a big pot, hence my broth appears to be little.
After removing the shells, I added the laksa paste and brought the broth to a simmer. I had a taste and noted that it was already salty. So there was no need to add any salt. After a short while, I added a packet of santan. 

Look at that. Lovely!
While all that was going on, I prepared the laksa ingredients. There you go. Beehoon, shredded chicken, thinly sliced omelette and some coriander leaves. Oops! I forgot the beansprouts which were draining in the kitchen.



Before that, I checked Arthur's instructions again and made sure I followed properly or else I might get a scolding hee..hee...

I was not sure what herbs are usually used, I have seen mint and coriander in some blog posts, so I suppose coriander is OK. I love coriander anyway.

Earlier on, I even took the trouble to pound some sambal belacan. 



After all that was done, I ladled the laksa gravy into my bowl. Mmmmm.....very nice! So aromatic and so tasty. Yes, this paste is good. This is my first taste of Sarawak Laksa and I trust that this is the real deal. 



If there is anything else that I can say, it is that the broth was a bit more salty than what I am used to. It's just my tastebuds I guess. One of my brothers and even my dad would ask for salt when eating at my place hah...hah...

But the strange thing is that when I had the laksa again in the evening, it did not taste that salty. 



Well that was a good meal. In fact two good meals. And I have one more portion of laksa gravy for the next day. So you are right, Arthur. One tub of this laksa paste  is good for 3 bowls of laksa which is just nice for me. My partner did not have any because he is not into spicy food like this. 

I have another 2 tubs of laksa paste which I am saving for another day. I have yet to start on the masak hitam paste because I have not been able to get the right cut of beef. But once I do, you bet I will be right on it!


Second round in the evening.

39 comments:

  1. Bravo Phong Hong! I am from Kuching and am mightly glad that you got it right the first time....right down to the sambal belacan. Some people would add things which instinctively made it 'unauthentic' ie cut chilli, mint leaves, cucumber strips etc. Come down to Kuching for the real McCoy sometime! Ann/KCH

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    1. Thank you, Ann! I take that as a compliment coming from a Kuching girl :) Yes, I do hope that someday I can come over to East Malaysia and sample the delightful food, especially the Sarawak Laksa!

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  2. I tried Sarawak laksa twice, and I don't really like it.. I prefer the old fashioned curry laksa (with foo pok, cockles and pork blood).. There's something inside the Sarawak laksa, some kinda spice or herb, I can't recall, but there's something "spicy" (not pedas punyer spicy ya) about the soup, hmmm.. BUT BUT BUT I don't mind trying your bowl of Sarawak laksa, so much "liew", and cooked with love wor, ok la, I want to try your one!

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    1. I think I know what spice you are referring to - fennel and coriander. I detected that but I happen to love both spices so the I find the laksa very sedap. I understand there are many versions, so this one might be different from the ones you tried.

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  3. Wow, looks so good, drooling!

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  4. Wow! Very salivating and delicious looking Sarawak Laksa. The paste makes the cooking sound so simple.

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    1. Very convenient with the paste. I have seen the paste recipe and there are so many ingredients.

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  5. That looks good! Sarawak laksa is my favorite kind of laksa.. :)

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    1. It's a very tasty and aromatic laksa and I love it!

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  6. What a coincidence, I just had Sarawak Laksa for breakfast today...the instant version, of course! :'( Yours must taste even more terrific seeing that you boiled your own stock with chicken and prawn shells.

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    1. It was very good and I'm glad I finally got to eat Sarawak Laksa :)

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  7. Hi Phong Hong,

    Wow! Your laksa looks good and also good that it is not too difficult to cook :D

    Zoe

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    1. Hi Zoe! With the ready made paste it was a breeze :)

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  8. Wah! So syiok!

    Now I wish I can have some.

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    1. Hee..hee..I syiok habis that day :D

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  9. Wow! looks so tempting. I wouldn't mind receiving 1 tub will do, hahaha!

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    1. hee..hee...hee... It was delicious and this one I cannot share hah..hah..so kiamsiap me :D

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  10. Wow, Phong Hong, you are one lucky girl. Your post had me drooling and making me so hungry now!

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    1. Nancy, my lucky star is shining hee..hee...

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  11. Drool! Drool!!! That sure looks very very good. I'll give you top marks for that!

    I've yet to try this brand but I've heard a few people telling me that it's good and minus the hassle of having to sieve the broth, that is one bonus point in its favour.

    Hmmmm...maybe I should go out and buy to cook my own...or if I hop over to KL, you can cook some more...and I'll eat on your hubs' behalf. Spicy kah? Usually, these pastes are toned down for general consumption - not really spicy. We usually make the sambal belacan extra spicy to make up for it.

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    1. P.S. I always add daun sup too. In Kuching, for the original, they would garnish with wan sui (daun ketumbar) which most/all Sibu people don't like. They say it smells of cockroach. So when we eat laksa in Kuching, we would quickly pick that up and put it aside the moment it is served. LOL!!!

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    2. Oh, thank you! Coming from you it means a lot :)

      You must get some for yourself and let me know what you think of it. There was hardly any residue, so it is good.

      It is spicy in terms of the aromatic spice, something which I enjoy. What? Cook for you? I would be too nervous hee..hee...hee...

      Sibu people don't like daun ketumbar, eh? LOL! Just like my dad, he thinks it smells like cockroach too. But me, I love daun ketumbar! So I added lots of it.

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  12. I've not tried sarawak laksa before, wonder how it taste! But I'm very sure it's delicious... because it's laksa! ;)

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    1. It's very good! Like curry laksa but it has additional spices and I detected fennel and coriander.

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  13. Sarawak Laksa is one of my favourite. We bought a different brand of laksa paste from the local hypermarket here.

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    1. It has become one of my favorites too!

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  14. Your Sarawak Laksa looks good with all the prawns and shredded omelette. I have eaten Sarawak Laksa at 4 different places in KL and they all taste a bit different but the most notable one has a very strong herbal taste to it - almost like "tit ta chow" (those chinese ubat used to rub sore muscles). Does the laksa paste have a strong herbal taste?

    STP is so very kind to send you these.

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    1. Thanks! No, it did not have the smell you mentioned. What I detected was the smell of fennel and coriander. I like it, so aromatic. Yes, STP is very kind indeed!

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  15. Nice attempt. The laksa looks so good. You could use chicken to cook with the laksa paste. My mum tried it before and I love it.

    Very good of STP sending you the Sarawak laksa paste.

    http://kuchingnite.blogspot.my/

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    1. Thanks, Rose! I am so happy I got to know Sarawak Laksa!

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  16. Hi Phong Hong,
    Looking at your bowl of laksa is making me having midnight hunger pangs right now! Seriously, I am feeling very hungry! Looks very delicious! Wonder whether this brand is sold here in KL or not!

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    1. Hi Joyce! hah..hah...not a good idea to read food blogs at midnite :D I am also wondering, they should market it over here too.

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  17. Superb review. Permission to promote. 😁Just for info, can get your tubs of Liza's Laksa from us.
    http://www.facebook.com/lizaspastemiri
    http://www.instagram.com/lizaspastemiri
    Anyone interested to become agent can contact us.

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    1. Oh hi! Thanks for letting me know :)

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