Laksa

Laksa, laksa, laksa! This is one of the local food that Singaporeans likes. There are many types of Laksa. The more famous Laksa are Nonya Laksa, Curry Laksa and Penang Laksa.

Nonya Laksa is the traditional Laksa. It uses prawn stock and lots of coconut milk in it. Curry Laksa also uses coconut but instead of prawn stock, it used chicken stock and yellow noodles instead of the traditionally used rice vermicelli. Penang Laksa on the other hand uses a fish based soup. Tamarind is added in it to give the soup a sour taste.

The very famous Laksa in Singapore is Katong Laksa where the noodles are cut into smaller pieces and you eat the Laksa with a spoon alone, without the use of chopsticks or fork.

What I have done is Nonya Laksa or at least closest to it compared to the other two Laksa version I have mentioned earlier.

Ingredients:

• Rice Vermicelli, scalded and drained
• 500 ml coconut milk
• 300g Medium Prawns
• 2 Fish Cakes, sliced
• 100g Bean Sprout, slightly blanched just before serving
• 10 pieces Tau Pok
• 100g Fresh Cockles (optional)
• 10 sprig Laksa Leaves aka Vietnamese Mint aka Daun Kesom
• 50g Dried Prawns, grind
• 150ml Oil
• 750ml Water
• Salt and Rock Sugar to taste

Grind into paste:

• 1 whole Garlic
• 10 Shallots
• 1/2 tablespoon Turmeric aka Kunyit
• 1 tablespoon Galangal aka Lengkuas
• 4 Candlenuts aka Buah Keras
• 1 stalk Lemon Grass aks Serai
• 2 teaspoon Shrimp Paste aka Belachan
• 12 Dried Chillies, soaked to soften

How to do it:

1. Blanch prawns in 750ml of water till 90% cooked.
2. Remove shells and return them to the pot of stock.
3. Set prawns aside.
4. Add in Laksa Leaves and bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Heat oil in wok.
6. Fry the paste for about 15 to 20 minutes.
7. Add in dried shrimp and continue frying the paste for another 5 minutes.
8. Pour the content to the pot of stock.
9. Bring to boil.
10. Gradually add in coconut milk.
11. Simmer till you see red oil surfacing.
12. Add salt and rock sugar to taste.
13. Add in the tau pok to cook for 2 minutes just before serving. This helps tau pok absorb Laksa gravy.
14. Put rice vermicelli in a bowl.
15. Top with tau pok, fish cakes, bean sprout and cockles.
16. Pour hot gravy over and serve immediately.

Note:

• If you prefer your Laska to be spicy, add chilli paste to your bowl of Laksa.
• Chop some Laksa Leaves for garnishing if you like.
• For convenience, I used packed coconut. Fresh coconut milk extract will taste and smell better.

Choko with Pork Ribs Soup 佛手瓜排骨汤

I first discovered this funny looking thing in the wet market while eavesdropping on two aunties discussing how to cook this thing. I asked the seller for the name of this thing and all he could say was 佛手瓜 which means "Buddha's hand melon". So it should look like Buddha's hand? Hmm ... to me it looks like the man-eating plant in the Little Shop of Horrors. That explains why it took me 4 years to finally pick it up. LOL

Anyway, if you understand Chinese, you would know that being a 瓜, it belongs to the gourd family. I later found out its English name in the supermarket. A funny name for a funny gourd/melon. It's called Choko or Chayote.

So far, I have not tried stir-frying it but only using it to make soup. It's slightly sweet and very clear. Nice!

Ingredients:

• 1 Choko aka Chayote, skinned, seed removed cut into pieces
• 1/2 Carrot, skinned and cut into pieces
• 250g Pork Ribs
• 1200ml Water
• Salt to taste

How to do it:

1. Blanch ribs.
2. In a pot, add all ingredients except salt.
3. Bring to boil.
4. Turn down fire and simmer for another hour or two depending on how soft you want your Choko to be.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Serve.

Note:
I include carrots to add sweetness. You can omit that to try the original taste. It's nice without carrots too!

* The funny looking thing - Choko *

* How Choko looks like inside *