Sarawak Laksa

For us Sarawakians living overseas, you will always find Sarawak laksa paste in our food storage. It is an absolute must-have and as long as you have this precious paste, you can have Sarawak in your heart and stomach without feeling too homesick. The Sarawak laksa is not like its cousins in Singapore or even Penang. This is a flavour all of its own, it's taste is so unique, spicy with a coriander and sambal belacan soup base that it stands out from the Singapore or Penang version. The Singapore laksa is more curry/lemak based whereas the Penang one is assam/tamarind based.
Nobody really knows the actual ingredients in the Sarawak Laksa paste. The coffeeshops in Kuching also order these paste from the one and only manufacturer in Kuching, which is coincidently near the area i grew up in, Kim Kiat Road. So this paste is a closely guided secret even the coffeeshops can't emulate. Well, they try to but it just doesn't taste the same as the authentic Sarawak Laksa paste with the sparrow brand. All I know is, it contents a lot of coriander seeds as well as sambal belacan.


For the soup
1 packet Sarawak Laksa paste
2 cans coconut milk
2 liters chicken and prawn stock + 5 liters water
1 pc chicken stock cube
salt to taste

Garnish
Omellet, cut into thin strips
Tiger prawns (cooked, peeled and deveined)
coriander leaves
beansprouts (blanched)
chicken meat, cooked and torn into strips
sambal belacan
Lime


In a large pot, boil the chicken in water and peel it into strips. Set aside. In the same broth, boil the prawns for 3 minutes. Peel and devein them. Set aside. Now you have your chicken and prawn stock. Add in the 5 liters water and bring it to a boil. Add stock cube.

Then add the Sarawak Laksa Paste and stir. Bring it to a boil. Sift the whole contents into another pot, press the soup thoroughly from the sieve and discard the husks in the sieve.
Now you have a clean pot of soup without any of the pounded/blended ingredients. Make sure the soup is free from all husks. Boil for a while and switch to low heat.

When it is about time to serve the soup, add in the coconut milk and salt to taste. The coconut milk should be added in last minute so it won't boil too long in the stock.

Garnish with all the garnishing ingredients. If you want it to be extra spicy, add in homemade sambal belacan. If you want a tinge of tanginess, squeeze in juice of 1 lime.

Nyaman! Ahhhhhhhhhh