Assam Laksa

Yes. You read it right : ) We all know that Assam Laksa is quite a tedious dish to prepare. If I read correctly from the Internet, you'll need to prepare a lot of ingredients such as the Ikan Parang, Assam Keping, Belacan... the list goes on. However, my mother-in-law taught me this version of Assam Laksa - almost instant and economical. I couldn't believe it myself and decided to learn and try it too!

Meet the ingredients! As you can see, most of the stuff are in a can. (Cheap cheap!) Hehehe and I think most of these stuff can be bought at the normal supermarket. I think the prawn paste, chilli powder (of which I forgot to place in the group photo) and assam keping might need to get it from the Asian Supermarket. Apart from that, you're ready to roll and make your own Assam Laksa! Weee!

First, chop and slice up the onion, cucumber and pineapples. Then, using a can opener, open up all your tinned fishes (Tuna & sardine, or both sardines) and tomato. I used peeled plum tomatoes because it is cheap! Once done, you're ready to move on the next step.

Stir fry a little bit of onion in a pot until fragrant. Then pour your tinned fishes and tomatoes and give it a good fry. Add water to increase soup volume, otherwise, the soup would be lumpy than the 'soupy' texture. As an alternative, I think you can add another can of tomatoes if you're cooking for more people.
For its sour and spicy taste, put in some Assam Keping. Do note that the assam keping needs to be boiled for a good half an hour so that the sour flavouring will be released into the soup. Add in chilli powder or dried chilli for the spicyness.

If you find that your soup has become too sour, balance it out with some sugar. Not sour enough? Add more assam keping lor... ^ ^ Let the soup simmer for about 30 - 40 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure the meat does not stick at the base of the pot. Season with salt if you find it too bland.

Usually the noodles would be thick rice noodles. However, we can't seem to find it in our Asian Supermarket and hence, decided to use... spaghetti! Hehehehehe. So boil the noodles as the usual method and we're ready to serve.

Turns out that our Assam Laksa was quite good. With some prawn paste added into the noodles, the dish just reminded me so much of Penang's Assam Laksa. We didn't make it too spicy as TheLoyalFan was having sore throat. Nonetheless, adding more dried chilli or perhaps fresh chilli will make the soup more spicy. If you are able to find the Daun Kesum (Completely clueless in english) and mint leaves, splendid! The spaghetti? Well, we think that it was a good choice as the noodles does not change the taste of the soup. In fact, it gave a more 'Al Dente' texture compared to the rice noodles. Oh yes, spaghetti is a cheaper ingredient than other noodles in the UK too : )

TheLoyalFan says: 'Had to force myself to eat slower in order to savour every last yummy bit! Cleaned out my whole bowl'

I agree! I ate mine really slow and enjoying every bit of the soup. And after cooking this method, I think I can cook Assam Laksa anytime that I want or have cravings for it. It is so easy and the ingredients are easily available in supermarkets.