THE VARIED TASTES OF LAKSA

If you see a Westerner sweating and wiping his chin while eating at the streetside stall, chances are he is enjoying a hot and spicy taste of Assam Laksa.

Assam Laksa: One of the world’s most delicious food

Assam Laksa is a sour, fish-based spicy soup. The Malay word “Asam” means “tamarind” which is a common seed used to create this sour flavour. The ingredients used are shredded fish, sliced vegetables such as cucumber, onions, red chillies, pineapple, lettuce, mint and pink bunga kantan or torch ginger. The aroma of the soup itself will tickle one’s taste bud and the trail of the aroma can be smelled as far as a few rooms away! The soup is usually served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli) and topping off the soup is the thick sweet prawn paste.

“Penang Assam Laksa is simply the best street food I ever tasted. In fact, after eating the noodles, I also slurped up the entire bowl of soup and not a drop left on it,” said Nancy Lam from Hong Kong who often visited the famous Penang Assam Laksa stall in Air Itam at the foot of Kek Lok Si Temple.

As a matter of fact, Penang Assam Laksa was voted 7th out of 50 most delicious food in the world in a global poll by CNN that leaned heavily towards Asian flavours.

Malaysia’s sole entry beat out Indonesia’s Beef Rendang (No. 11) and Singapore’s twin national dishes, Chicken Rice (45) and Chilli Crab (35), Thailand’s Tom Yum Goong (No 8), Nam Tok Moo, a meaty dish of grilled pork and toasted rice (No 19), and its signature green papaya salad, Som Tam (No 46).

Assam Laksa has another flavour which is santan or coconut milk-based soup. This taste is not sour but has a rich thick taste of coconut milk. Basically, some of the ingredients of the earlier Laksa is used such as shredded fish and spices. It is interesting to note that Laksa lovers can distinguish the different taste of Assam Laksa prepared by the Chinese and Malay respectively. The Laksa prepared by the Chinese is thicker while the Malay street food vendor normally prepares much sour taste rich in tamarind.

Curry Laksa: A thumps up to hot and spicy

It is good to sweat a little, especially when you enjoy a great taste of Curry Laksa. The fragrant of the curry is good enough to trigger interest. Curry Laksa or aptly known as Laksa is a hot and spicy coconut-based curry soup dipped together with yellow noodles, rice vermicelli and bean sprouts. It is usually simply referred to as “Laksa” only. The main ingredients for this dish are bean curd puffs, fish sticks, shrimps and cockles, chickens. To enhance the taste is a spoonful of sambal chillies paste, and garnished with coriander leaves. In some stalls, mint leaves are used. In fact, true connoisseurs of Curry Laksa will appreciate the taste with more mint leaves.

To distinguish the two Laksa dishes, most people in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore will say “Curry Laksa” to refer to this coconut-based curry soup while “Assam Laksa” to refer to the tamarind fish-based soup.

Today, with the growing demand for Curry Laksa among the Muslim community, some places prepare the dish in a halal way, containing no pork blood. So where can you get a sumptuous taste of Curry Laksa? Among the best stalls are Lorong Seratus Tahun, off Macalister Road near Anson Road market and the stall in Swatow Lane off Burma Road, Penang.

Sarawak Laksa: Borneo’s delight

If you ever take a trip to Sarawak, your vacation will not be complete without a taste of Sarawak Laksa. Sarawak Laksa is a rice noodle dipped in a shrimp paste broth with a tinge of coconut milk. A CNN online article called Sarawak Laksa as the “de-facto” state dish of Sarawak due to lack of worldwide publicity and in comparison with other higher ranking Malaysian cuisines.

Sarawak Laksa is served with generous portion of bean sprouts, prawns, shredded chickens, omelette slices, garlic, tamarind, lemon grass and fried tofu. To spice it up, add the thick sambal paste. For some more pizzazz, try squeezing some lime juice (limau kasturi) onto your dish. Rest assured you will feel heavenly and contented in and out your stomach!

All in all, Laksa comes in many varieties. Each varies according to its place of origin – Penang Laksa, Perlis Laksa, Kedah Laksa, Ipoh Laksa, Kuala Kangsar Laksa, Johor Laksa. And whether it is Assam Laksa, Sarawak Laksa or Curry Laksa, you will be asking for more with every bite!