Assam Laksa Anyone?

This is my friend J not so easy version of Assam Laksa. When you are away from home and craving for assam laksa, having a bowl of it with the taste as close as you can get it’s like heaven especially to a pregnant women like me. So I call up J last Friday asked for the recipe and invited her family come over to taste and provide me some feed back since I am going to note down exactly the amount of ingredient I put while I was cooking.

So here there are..

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Hup Loong Assam Laksa spice

• 2 oz belachan
• 1 sweet yellow onion
• 5 dried chilis
• ½ medium size jicama
• 1 stalk lemon grass
• 1 ½ oz Laksa basil

• 4-5 tamarind skins/Assam Keping
• 3 can 6 oz tuna drained
• 2 can 15 oz Sardine in tomato sauce
• Soy sauce, salt and sugar to taste

Method:

• Add belachan, onion, jicama and chilies into blender and blend until smooth paste. Note may need to add some water to get the blender running.
• In a large pot, boil about 12 cups of water.
  
• After the water is boiling, add in lemon grass, laksa basil and blended ingredients and tamarind skins, bring to boil, turn the heat to medium and let it simmer for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
• Add in tuna and Sardine, a little soy sauce, salt and sugar to taste.
• Serve it laksa bee hoon garnish with some lettuce, pineapple, cucumber and red onion.
  

Note: This recipe can probably serve around 10 people.

Her secret ingredient of increasing the sweetness of the soup is by addition blended jicama and sweet yellow onion. I was also told that, to prepare the soup 1 day ahead to increase the flavor and sweetness from all the spices. I find it rather interesting using jicama for sweetness. Nevertheless, I love the outcome and taste.