Recipe Description
This recipe was first published in the Star Food.
Recipe Ingredient
- Sambal
- 10 red chillies
- 2 bulbs red onions
- 1 clove garlic
- 50g dried shrimps
- 8 tbsp cooking oil
- Spice paste
- 150g small onions
- 125g garlic
- 150g galangal
- 30g red chillies
- 4 stalks lemongrass, white part only
- 10 dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 20 minutes
- 30g candlenuts
- 20g cumin seeds
- 55g coriander seeds
- 3 pods star anise, dry toasted and ground
- 4 buds cloves, dry toasted and ground
- 1 nutmeg kernel, pounded
- 5 pods cardamoms, seeds only
- Stock
- 1kg fresh prawns
- 500g chicken breast or pork
- 2 litres cold water
- Other Ingredients
- 12 tbsp palm oil
- 75g sesame seeds, toasted and ground
- 150g peanuts, toasted and ground
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 2 tsp salt to taste
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1½ litres chicken and prawn stock
- 2 cups coconut milk
- Garnish
- 100g rice vermicelli, scalded
- 5-6 calamansi limes, halved
- 1 bunch coriander
- 200g beansprouts, scalded
- 1 cucumber, shredded
- 2 eggs, made into an omelette and julienne-cut shredded chicken meat or pork poached prawns sambal
Instructions
- To make the stock, remove the prawn heads and shells. Marinate the flesh with sugar for 30 minutes. Place the prawn heads and shells in a stock pot, add water and bring to a boil.
- Simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes. Strain the broth through a wire sieve and discard the heads and shells.
- Bring the stock to a boil and add prawns, poach for five minutes until cooked.
- Then cool down completely before splitting each prawn into two halves. Bring the stock back to a boil and add meat.
- If using chicken, poach for 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat until fully cooked, then remove from the heat to cool down before shredding.
- If using pork, poach for 20 to 30 minutes over medium heat until tender, then remove from the heat to cool down before shredding.
- To make the sambal, blend all ingredients with a little oil in an electric mill into a fine paste.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the sambal paste until fragrant and oil separates. Set aside.
- To make the spice paste, blend all the ingredients with a little oil into a fine paste.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan and saute the spice paste until fragrant, then add sesame seeds, peanuts, curry powder and seasonings.
- To make the laksa broth, place the spice paste in a large saucepan and add stock and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat, adding more stock if necessary, to adjust its consistency.
- To serve, divide the vermicelli among bowls and ladle the broth over it, then garnish and serve piping hot with sambal.
