Johor Laksa

Johor laksa, unlike many other local laksa, is served with fish gravy and spaghetti is used. Chinese salted radish is used for garnishing and flavor. It is usually taken in very small portions (usually one twirl of spaghetti with a fork) as it it can be really filling. The dish may not look as appealing as any other laksa but it tastes really cool!

Ingredients: 

800 -900 gm kembong (whole)

30 gm ikan bilis (in sachet) and boil with about 3 L water

100 gm shallots

2 red onions

1 bulb garlic

1 handful shrimp

5 candlenuts

Handful of smashed lengkuas/galangal

1 inch ginger

3 tbsp fish curry powder

3 lemon grass

1 tsp turmeric powder

season with salt or fish sauce to taste

3 nos asam keping

4-5 tbsp of coconut cream

Condiments :

Beansprouts, long bean or french beans (thinly sliced), red chilli, sliced red onions, shredded cucumber, salted radish/choy Bou (soaked), ginger bud, kesom leaves (thinly shredded), calamansi.

1. Bring the 3 L of Ikan Bilis/anchovies stock to boil and poach the tenggir/kembong fish until cooked. remove fish and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, smash lengkuas, lemon grass and add into stock to simmer (for 15 minutes or more)

2. Remove fish meat from fish bones and blend. You may bring the fish bones back into the pot to simmer but make sure you strain the stock first before you add in anything else.

3. Separately blend curry powder, garlic, onions, shallots, shrimps, candlenuts, turmeric powder (add in a bit of the stock to make blending easier)

4. Heat oil, and fry the the blended spices until fragrant and add in the strained stock.

5. Simmer for at least another 20 minutes before adding in the blended fish. Brnig to boil again and then turn to low heat before you add in coconut milk and simmering until the desired thickness is reached. Keep simmering until it is ready to be served. (do not boil once you have added in the coconut milk).

6. 'Twirl' some cooked spaghetti (in salt water) with a fork and place it onto a platter.

7. Assemble the condiments onto the plate before ladling 1-2 ladles of the thick gravy onto it. Squeeze in the calamansi juice and enjoy!

Note : Try to use the smaller variety of ikan kembong as it is sweeter and cheaper.

Johor Mee Rebus (8-10 portions)

500 gm beef bones (knuckle) - blanched and rinsed

150 -200 medium prawns, blanched and  shells removed, keep aside separately

2 handful dried shrimps, soaked

300 gm sweet potato (red), peeled, roughly cut

1-2 serai/lemongrass

2 inches lengkuas, sliced

6 buah keras/candlenut

2 tbsp turmeric

60-80 gm peanuts (finely grinded)

t-2 tsp chilli giling

4 tbsp taucu/fermented beanpaste

250 gm shallots

6 cloves garlic

2 tbsp coriander powder

3 tbsp tapioca starch + 12 tbsp water

2-2.5 litre water

Method:

1. Bring  water to boil and throw in the prawn shells and sweet potatoes. and simmer until potatoes are soft.   Discard shells and blend the potatoes.  Then pour blended poatoes back into the stock.

2. Meanwhile, grind (finely) garlic, shallots, shrimps and buah keras.  

3.  Heat oil in wok and fry until brown with turmeric powder and coriander powder.  Pour mixture into the stock.

4.  In the stock, add bones, smashed lemongrass, peanuts, chilli gilling, taucu  and simmer for at least 3 hours / until gravy-like thickess.

5.  Pour in cornstarch to give it that smooth texture.

Notes : Garnish : Don't be too tempted to season with salt & pepper within 3 hours.  For garnish, you need chopped daun sup (chinese celery), fried shallots (optional), hard boil eggs, diced fried beancurd, FRESH GREEN CHILLIES, calamansi (limau kasturi) and deepfried batter.  I substituted deepfried batter with deepfried chinese crullers (You Tiao)- sliced and panfried /deepfried until crispy.

This recipe is very easy. For serving, use a soup plate with blanched yellow noodles  (not too much) and ladle 1-2 ladles of the gravy. garnish with the above.

Note that some gravies are made from chicken or lamb stock.  But the beef stock ones are the best. 

Fried 'Chee Cheong Fun' with Marmite (Vegetarian)

Ingredient :

200 gm Chee Cheong Fun, cut into small rolls

100 gm diced cabbage

2 tsp marmite

75 gm salted radish,soaked and squeezed dry

3-4 tbsp kg. koh chilli sauce (Sweet) / or 'taste me' bird's eye chili sauce (extra spicy)

2 eggs, beaten and season with 2 pinch of salt

2-3 tsp Japanese Chilli Flakes (mixed)

2-3 tbsp oil

1 tsp dark soy (thick)

1 tbsp sesame seeds

spring Onion (Optional) for garnishing

Method:

1. Heat oil in wok and stirfry(High Heat) radish for 30 seconds or so before adding in cabbage.

2. Mix marmite and chilli sauce and pour into the radish-cabbage mixture.

3. Stirfry for further 10-20 seconds before adding the "chee cheong fun". Continue stir-frying to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the wok.

4. Pour in the dark soy and stirfry for 10 seconds. Spread the ingredients evenly in the wok and pour in the beaten egg evenly.

5. Let it settle and cook for about 15-20 seconds before you stirfry.

6. Sprinkle in the chilli flakes, sesame seeds and spring onions, give a brief stir and dish out. To be served hot.

Asam Laksa

2.5 - 2.8 ltr fish stock / water (depending on preferred thickness)

800 gm - 1kg Ikan Kembong (Mackerel Fish), whole

6 tbsp prawn paste / "Har Goe"

8 pcs asam keping/tamarind peel

170 gm tamarind paste (asam Jawa) with 400 ml water, then strained
5 stalks lemon grass (remove 3/4 top and outer layer) and smashed

4 large handful kesom leaf (laksa leaf)

Blended Ingredients:

200-250 ml water

1 bulb garlic

200 gm red onions/shallots

3 inches lengkuas/galangal, sliced

2.5 - 3 tbsp chilli giling (grounded chilli), or to taste

2-3 gingerbud/ginger flower

salt & sugar to taste

Garnish :

red onion rings, more kesom leaves (shredded), diced pineapples, ginger flower/bud (finely sliced), sliced red chilli, prawn paste and Fresh mint leaves (OR vietnamese mint leafs/daun selasih/sweet basil).

Method:

1. Bring water to boil and poach fish until cooked.

2. Meanwhile, blend all the "blended ingredients) and set aside.

3. Once fish is cooked, remove fish and set aside to cool and remove chunks of meat to set aside.

4. Put the bones back into the stock and simmer further with lemon grass, leaves (closed lid) for about 30 - minutes and strain off the bones (and chunks of ingredients, if desired)

5. Pour in blended ingredients and add in prawn paste, tamarind peel and strained tamarind juice.

6. Let it boil under medium low heat for 20-25 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, flake the removed chunks of meat and return it into the stock for a further 10 minutes or so. (flake half portion if desired and keep the remaining for garnishing)

8.Ladle some soup onto briefly blanched fresh laksa noodles already topped with chunks of meat and garnish. 

Note: You can substitute part of the prawn paste with belachan. 

Soto Ayam (Bee Hoon)

Click Here :

http://littlebeancurdchicken.blogspot.com/2010/02/soto-ayam-bee-hoon.html