How to prepare Sarawak Laksa by Using Convenience Sambal Laksa:

Sarawak Laksa Accompanied by Sambal Sauce


By Chef Si@ChefSarawak

    Sambal Laksa means Laksa sauce or laksa paste, it is a convenience product to save your time to prepare laksa soup. If you don't have this ready made sambal laksa convenient laksa paste, then you have to find a way to figure out how to prepare the laksa paste. 

   Sarawak laksa paste is a secret formula, but most Sarawakiens don't bother by it because they can eat laksa almost in every kopitiam. 

    There are two most popular laksa soup bases sold in Kuching, the city that Sarawak laksa originated from, one is like lobster bisque consistency and the other one is like Thai's tom yang soup base consistency. 

    If you really want to know how to make Sarawak laksa paste, please request me, if there are more than 1000 requests happened within three months, I think my taste buds is good enough to figure out a formula just like how I figured out the Sarawak Sambal Belacan and Beef Rendang recipes.

Step 1:

Prepare Laksa Stock (Or you can follow the laksa sambal package’s instruction):

Sarawak Laksa's  ready-made laksa paste,  This is considered by most Sarawakiens as the most authentic Sarawak laksa paste brand.

1.Sauté macedoine shallot, minced garlic and (Optional: Pound dried shrimp, usually using pestle) with oil until brown. Add 4 litres water, 600g laksa samba paste, chicken bones. prawn shell, (Or using the mixture of chicken stock and prawn stock) Boil for 30 minutes. Strain.

2. Optional: I would usually add a whole freelance chicken, boil and simmer with the strained laksa stock for another hour, then take away the chicken

3. Finally, add 500 ml of fresh coconut cream. Make sure the stock is not too thin. Note that good laksa stock should look like either bisque-like consistency or Thai’s tom yam soup’s consistency. Season if necessary. 

Step 2:

Garnishing ingredients:

  \

     1. Pan fry omelette. Roll it into a long tube then cut it into julienne. This way you save time        and your egg julienne will look long like your rice noodles

     2.Typical Sarawakien’s laksa is using cilantro sprouts. Roughly chop coriander if you can’t        find coriander sprout.

     3. Sarawakien’s laksa is using calamansi lime, if calamansi is not avail, lime can be used.        Cut into pieces.

     4. Big prawns, blanch, don’t overcook prawn. Get rid of shells but save the head n tail 

         the presentation purpose.

     5. Chicken breast (or using the whole chicken), poach and shredded or julienne

     6. Blanch bean sprout quickly

     7. Optional: Deep fried tofu, julienne

Step 3:

1.     

     

           1. Make sure your water is boiled and season with salt and oil before adding rice vermicelli. 

      2. Cook it to al dente, strain immediately, let the residue heat cooks. 

      
      Note: 

      Normally in Sarawakien’s kopitiam, vermicelli would be soaked in water first then drained, it would be blanched quickly before served.

Step 4:

1.    

          1. To prepare accompanying laksa sauce: Get a few tablespoons of floated chili oil from your laksa stock to a frying pan. 

     2. Add samba belacan (Make sure you have ready make Sarawak style samba belacan), fry until your neighbor’s cat began to call you out of your kitchen door. Then deglaze the pan with calamansi or lime juice.

How to serve?

    

     This laksa was prepared in Auckland, New Zealand, there was no baby coriander and calamansi lime availed when I prepared this laksa, and the prawns were small compared to what Sarawakiens could get from the market.

           1. Add a portion of freshly blanched vermicelli to a bowl, add the boiling hot laksa stock

      2.  Garnish the top with shredded chicken, julienne egg omelette, bean sprout, (or julienne fried tofu), prawns and baby coriander

     3.  Accompanied by samba belacan and calamansi lime. (optional: can use lime)

      Note: 

      It is a MUST to squeeze calamansi lime juice to laksa, mix well before eating it, and samba belacan is used to flavor prawn and shredded chicken

How to prepare Samba Belacan Sarawak Style:

    Samba belacan Sarawak is different from West Malaysians’ samba belacan. Sarawakiens belacan is thicker and full of flavor due to dried prawn is added and the process will take longer time to prepare, here l used more than 10 fresh ingredients. 

    You can’t add too much oil while simmering, fast simmering gives tough fiber texture for samba belacan.

    If undercooked there will be fishy smell if overcooked, it will have burnt smell. There is palm sugar in there... to keep a vigilance is a must to cook this Sarawakien style samba belacan. 

    It is used to accompany nasi lemak, bbq fish, fried peanut n anchovy, cuttlefish, squid rings, cucumber or laksa etc.

The ingredients used tto prepare sambal Belacan Sarawak style are: Shallots, dried prawn (use the superior quality big dried prawn), ginger, dried chili, fresh chili, garlic, lemongrass (don’t use too much or else it becomes Thai’s style), tamarind, galangal, coriander seeds, turmeric root, torch flower buds, good grade belacan, palm sugar. Blend finely, simmer with oil. (salt and pepper TT)

Beef Rendang by Professionally Trained Chef Born in Sarawak, Malaysia

Adapted Malaysian Recipe by ChefSarawak based on chefs' request

Although Beef Rendang originates from Indonesia, these days it has become one of the most popular stews in her neighboring countries. Visitors to Singapore and Malaysia can find it anywhere from hawker stalls to five star hotels.

  Western style stews are usually flavored and thickened by root vegetables, but Beef Rendang is flavored and thickened by indigenous herbs, spices, and coconut cream, all of which are available locally in Malaysia.

   Beef Rendang is commonly served along vegetables and plain rice. It is also popularly accompanied by Nasi Lemak (coconut rice served with samba, fried peanut and anchovy) or rice cake cubes (ketupak) during times such as festivals, parties, or the Malay New Year. 

  If stewed with an old cow’s shin or skirt, it may take four hours or even up to a day, but when using quality beef and adapted cooking techniques and methods, Beef Rendang may only require roughly an hour’s cooking time. Beef rending always tastes better after sitting overnight and after reheating.

  This version of Beef Rendang is a professionally trained chef’s approach to stewing/braising Malaysian Beef Rending, which as mentioned before, incorporates the best of western cooking techniques for preparing Beef Rendang with ease, saving time, and achieving a better texture and consistency.

  I hope you all enjoy this approach to cooking an easier but tastier version of Beef Rendang. 

  Bon appetite!

Ingredients:

Dried herbs and spices

(1)    1 tsp. chili flakes

(2)    1 tsp. ground coriander seed

(3)    1 tsp. ground turmeric or 2 tsp grated fresh turmeric

(4)    1 tsp.  ground black pepper corns (plus 1/2 for seasoning beef cubes)

(5)   4 dried Sarawak indigenous bunkang leaves/ daum salam (Alternatively, use bay leaves)

(6)    2 tablespoons of palm sugar (Optional or TT)

Wet herbs and spices

1. 3 large shallots or onions (Chop roughly)

2. 5 cloves garlic (Chop roughly)

3. 4 red chilies (TT. Deseed and chop roughly)

4. 1 tbsp grated ginger

5. 1.5 tsp grated galangal

6. 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate

7.  2 stalks lemongrass or 2 strips lime zest (shredded)

8. 3 kaffir lime leaves

9. 3 tbsp. kirisi/Coconut comfit

Other

1. 350ml coconut cream

2.  2 tbsp butter

3. Salt TT

4. Flour for dusting

5. 1kg beef topside, shin, skirt, thick flank, brisket or rump steak

6. Oil for sealing beef cubes

Methods:

Preparation

1. Roughly chop the onions/shallots, garlic, and chili.

2. Cut beef into stew size cubes, season with salt and pepper, and dust very lightly with flour.

3. Shred the lemon grass roughly.

4. Prepare a piece of parchment paper for cartouche.

Step 1

In a blender, add the roughly chopped shallots or onions, garlic, chilies, ginger, galangal, and 100ml of coconut cream, and blend. Sieve to separate liquid and sediment.

Step 2

In a pot, heat the butter; add the shredded lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and ½ tsp. of salt, and sauté. Add the sieved sediment; continue to sauté until light brown. Then add all the dry ingredients; continue to fry until a fragrance is release. Deglaze the pot using the sieved liquid. Simmer.

Step 3

In a frying pan, heat up the oil until it is smoking, then quickly seal the seasoned and lightly dusted beef cubes until evenly brown. Discard excess oil in the frying pan. You may add brown sugar and kerisi now.

Step 4

Deglaze the frying pan with simmering liquid. Add the rest of the coconut cream, tamarind, kerisi, brown sugar (optional) and salt to season it lightly. Add browned beef cubes to the simmering liquid, stir. Give it a quick boil. Transfer everything to a pot. Cover with cartouche and place the pot into an oven, and bake it at 160-180C for an hour. When the stew is done, give it a final season. Discard the lemon grass, kaffir and bay leaves.

Notes:

1. Check the stew after 30 minutes as some ovens’ temperatures may vary.

2. If the oven temperature exceeds 200C, some pots will suffer damage.

3. If the accompanying salad is very sweet, it is unnecessary to add palm sugar/ brown sugar /sugar to the Rendang.

4. The liquid for braising should be around ¾ to the beef

5. If it bubbles too much, lower the temperature

6. if it dries too fast, add a bit more coconut cream, mix well lower the temperature, and continue to braise it.