A Gourmand's Simple Pleasures: Assam Laksa!! No.7: World's 50 most delicious foods by CNN Go, 2011

Assam Laksa is a sour, fish-based soup spiced with lemongrass, chilies, daun kesum, belachan & shallots. The sourish flavoured soup is usually contributed by Assam Jawa which is the Malay word for tamarind and/or assam keping, also known as assam gelugor. The simmering broth is served over thick fresh & lightly blanched rice noodles which in chinese, they are called " Lai Fen ". To compliment the entire dish, a selection of garden fresh greens, herb, lime and most importantly, the SOUL of the dish, Hae Ko (蝦羔), a thick sweet prawn/shrimp paste is a must. There will be no excuse if Hae Ko is not available. If you do not have it ready, there is really no point in going through all the trouble as the Hae Ko rounds up the Assam Laksa flavour, it is the binder, the link, the SOUL of Assam Laksa.

Last weekend (Nov3 2012), our Masterchef Aunty Mayyee graciously showed us her recipe & method for her Kedah styled Assam Laksa. We asked her the difference between Penang Assam Laksa and Kedah Assam Laksa and the reply was that Kedah Assam Laksa do not use pineapple as an ingredient. I read somewhere that Kedah Asam Laksa has hard boiled eggs as one of the complements.

Ingredients: ( 20 ~ 30 servings )

2 kilos Ikan Kembung (Mackerel)
4~5 litres water
7 teaspoon of salt (to taste, it takes alot of salt to lift up the assam flavour)
Thick Rice Noodles (Lai Fen)
A bunch of Daun Kesum (Vietnamese Mint)
8-10 piece of Assam Keping
To Blend (Rempah):

6 red chilies
4 stalks of serai (Lemongrass)
4 tablespoons of belachan (the more the merrier)
12 shallots
Galanggal

Accompliments:

Finely sliced chili padi (bird's eye chili)
Mint Leaves
Finely sliced Red Bombay Onions
Finely diced Bunga Kantan (Ginger Torch)
Finely sliced Lettuce
Finely julienned cucumber
Limau Kasturi halves (Lime)
Hae Ko (Thick Sweet Shrimp Paste) - thinned out with warm water to a syrupy consistency

Method:

Poach the fish in 4~5 litres of water for about 5 minutes
Remove fish to cool before removing the deboning

top half of fish will be easier to be removed in a whole, keep some as such for garnishing
bottom half where most bones are found will naturally break as you try to pull off the bones, leave them to another bowl to be mashed and return to the stock

Return the heads & bones to poaching liquid and simmer for another 10-15mins to extract the sweetness
Strain the liquid and discard bones
Add in the blended ingredients (rempah) to the liquid together with mashed fish meat, daun kesum and assam keping. Let it simmer for another 15-20 mins
Add in salt & taste, you may be surprised but it takes quite alot of salt to bring out the assam flavour.
Add in more assam if you like it more sourish.
While waiting for the aroma to reach your guests sitting 15 feet from the kitchen, bring a pot of water to boil & prepare the accompliments.
Blanch the noodles but do not overcook them, we do not want soggy noodles, we want lively al-dente noodles
When you begin to hear hungry noises being emitted from your guests from the living/dining area, chances are that your stock is ready.
Arrange noodles onto a bowl/plate.
Stir the broth to distribute the fish evenly and scoop broth over noodles.
Allow your guests to decorate their own assam laksa with their favourite accompliment as they like
Walk around and watch them oooo, arrrrrr, slurpppp, sweat and flap their burning tongues!