Saturday, May 9, 2009

Sarawak Specialty : Sarawak Laksa

I know of a certain someone who loves to organise laksa parties. She lays out all the ingredients in co-ordinated Tupperware containers the kitchen, next to a simmering pot of curry broth and lets her guests assemble their own laksa. It’s fairly easy. You do not need any culinary skills to put together your bowl of laksa.

First, place blanched vermicelli into a deep bowl. Then, top with some steamed chicken strips, shredded egg omelette, cooked prawns and blanched bean sprouts. Ladle curry broth into bowl and garnish with some coriander leaves if you like.

Before you dig in, squeeze in some lime for that tangy zest and drop in a dollop of belacan for some extra spicy kick. Yummm. There’s nothing more satisfying than a good bowl of steaming Sarawak Laksa.

Madam Wee's Laksa

Not many people know this, but my tastebuds say that Bakery.Cafe sold the best Sarawak Laksa in Miri when it still existed. This tiny café has since closed down and there goes my favourite laksa haunt.

I used to like Nancy’s so called “Kuching” laksa, until she started using hard-boiled eggs in place of shredded omelette. That is weird as no laksa in Kuching ever uses hard-boiled eggs. It does not go well with the curry broth at all. Imagine having mashed egg yolk in your curry. I stopped patronizing her for laksa since then so I haven’t any idea how her laksa has since evolved. By the way, Nancy’s at 28 Food Centre opposite Imperial Mall. She’s uber famous for her beef noodles, but I will blog that another time.

My cousin told me that Sarawak Laksa is also sold in KL, and that KL-ites prefer to have kueh tiaw in their laksa instead of the usual vermicelli. Now, that's another weird choice for me.

Anyway, the secret to good laksa lies in the broth. It is in fact, not really curry broth, rather a curry-like broth. It has to be lemak. Vendors often commit the mistake by diluting their broth to result in a thin curry soup. That totally spoils the laksa.

Well, all that talk about laksa makes me want to grab a bowl for breakfast later. Ciao.

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