Saturday, June 7, 2008

Assam Laksa



Assam laksa is a sour fish-based soup. Asam is the Malay word for sour, but it is often used as an abbreviation for asam jawa or tamarind, which is commonly used to give the stock its sour flavor. It is also common to use "asam keping" also known as "asam gelugor", dried slices of tamarind fruit, for added sourness. Modern Malay spelling is asam, though the spelling assam is still frequently used.
The main ingredients for assam laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung fish or mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillis, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, "daun kesom" (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint) and pink bunga kantan (ginger buds). Assam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). And topped off with "petis udang" or "hae ko", a thick sweet prawn paste.

1 comment:

club21 said...

Interesting but try to use some words of your own, Sharifah!