Best and Authentic Penang Malaysia Asam Laksa

Last June during the school holidays, my family and I had a blast going around parts of Peninsula Malaysia. Started off the 12-day trip in Langkawi, followed by Penang and ended off with the bright city of lights of Kuala Lumpur. These 3 places were all unique in their own way but for this blog post, I’ll be writing about the beautiful island of Penang and the food (Penang Asam Laksa in particular) I had there.

Penang is a beautiful state that’s rich in heritage and culture. A little backstory of this island, it was handed over by the Sultan of Kedah to the English, Sir Francis Light, who founded the island’s capital, Georgetown in 1786. Today, the island a vibrant city and one of Malaysia’s vital economic powerhouses, known as the Silicon Valley of the East. Its GDP ranks as one of the highest among all the states of Malaysia.

Though the island has a very futuristic outlook, its people have stayed true to their roots and are extremely proud of their history, heritage and culture. Visitors will fall in love with the island’s well-preserved architecture, its dynamic street art scene, its melting pot of cultures and of course, its amazing food offerings. 

I obviously went above and beyond to try as many local dishes as I could! I still have many dishes that I’ve yet to try, so I will definitely be making a return trip to Penang!

Nasi Kandar is a must-have when one is in Penang. We went to Kassim Nasi Kandar on a hot, friday afternoon and boy, it was SO GOOD! It was my first Nasi Kandar experience and I love how you get a little bit of every type of gravy drenching your one plate of rice! I went slightly simple with my choice of sides – mackerel fish curry and steamed bhindi (lady’s finger). I saw some freshly-fried chicken come out from their kitchen and also opted for that! It was an unforgettable meal and love every bit of my meal there! You can check out my Nasi Kandar story here!

We also tried plenty of other local spreads such as Char Kway Teow, Mee Mamak and Rojak Pasembur Cucur Udang that was drenched in a bright red, spiced sweet potato dressing from a cheeky food hunt at the local night market in Gurney Drive. That was a night to remember! 

But, one key memory from my Penang trip was the Penang Asam Laksa. Penang Asam Laksa is a laksa unique to Penang and quite different from other laksas from other states of Malaysia. Unlike other types of laksa, Penang’s Asam Laksa has no coconut milk.

It’s made of a rich and aromatic fish broth that has a punchy kick of sourness from not one, but two types of souring agents. First is the asam jawa or tamarind of which this dish is named after. There is also a second type of asam known as asam keping or asam gelugor which is the dehydrated and sliced form of the Gelugor Fruit, a very sour fruit that is native to Peninsula Malaysia. There is also a lingering sweetness from the thick prawn paste or petis and a unique aroma from bunga kantan (torch ginger) and daun kesum or Vietnamese mint. You pour this broth over slightly thick, rice noodles with lots of fresh garnishes such as chopped pineapples, cucumber slivers, fresh mint, chillis and more torch ginger.  It is just out of this world and if you are ever in Penang, you must not leave without trying this dish!

I love it so much that I’ve decided to try and make my own Asam Laksa with all the key ingredients that are usually found in Penang’s Asam Laksa. In Singapore, I heeded to Geylang Serai Market for the freshest catch and its amazing range of herbs, spices, and other ingredients catering heavily to the Malaya-Indonesian culinary traditions.

I have so much to say about Geylang Serai Market and the food heaven that’s located right above, but let’s leave that for another blog post. Maybe a guide on what to purchase and what’s available over there?

Asam Laksa

Let’s now give all the attention to the Asam Laksa! 

Firstly before you begin, I’m going to say that making this dish will take some time. Give yourself time to make enjoy the process. It will take you roughly 2 hours from start to finish to make this dish. There are many steps involved but let me tell you, it will all be worth it!

I will started by first making the fish stock. I wanted a fish stock that is beautifully seasoned and aromatic. So besides adding salt and gula melaka to the stock, I’ve also added a knot of daun kesum, a few slices of asam gelugor as well as the core of the pineapple. Pineapple slices will be used later to garnish this dish.

Add everything with fresh cold water in a large pot and let it come slowly to a boil on medium high heat.  Then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. I’ve decided to go for a larger, whole mackerel or ikan tenggiri than the smaller ikan kembong for easier separation later – we will be removing all the bones, leaving the fish meat to add into the broth. Truth is, my eyesight is not that good and I don’t want to be looking for tiny, little bones and miss taking them out!

While the stock is simmering, you can prepare the wet spice mix. Cut them all into smaller pieces and then proceed to blend with some water until smooth.

Once your timer for the stock goes off, turn off the heat and let cool slightly. Remove the fish pieces–I’ve 4 pieces which the fishmonger had sliced for me–and let them cool. Sieve the fish stock,  discarding all other ingredients and put the stock back into the pot.

While waiting for the fish to cool down, pour hot water over the asam jawa / tamarind in a medium bowl to soften and infuse. This tamarind liquid will add that lovely tang to the broth later.

Once the fish is cool enough to handle, remove the fish pieces from the bones and break it into small flakes. I like leaving some chunky pieces because who doesn’t like biting into fresh, meaty mackerel when eating Asam Laksa! Discard the fish bones and fish head.

Add the wet spice mix and all broth ingredients into the fish stock except the fish sauce. Turn on the heat to medium high. The tamarind liquid will also be added into the stock. Using your hand, simply squeeze out the tamarind seeds and pour only the liquid into the pot. Discard the seeds and any sediments from the tamarind. 

To thicken the broth slightly, I will blend about ⅓ of the fish flakes with some broth until it becomes a smooth paste. Add the smooth paste and the balance fish flakes into the broth. Leave this broth to simmer for 20 minutes.

While we wait for the broth to thicken up and infuse all the flavours from these amazing ingredients, we can start preparing the garnishes that include a flower that I’ve been meaning to write about, the bunga kantan also better known as the torch ginger flower. 

Bunga Kantan

Bunga Kantan is found in many South East Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore. It is a light pink plant that has so much beauty inside and out…..LITERALLY! From the ginger family, the bunga kantan, also more popularly known as the torch ginger, is a flower that grows in three different colours. Red, pink and white. More commonly found in pink, the pink torch ginger is appreciated and used in many Malay, Nonya, Indonesian and Thai cooking who uses the bud of this flower for culinary purposes to enhance flavour of the dish. This aromatic flower has a distinctive taste of sweet, sour and piquant flavour with citrusy notes. It is an indispensable ingredient in Malay and Chinese Peranakan cooking.

If you’ve been around South East Asia, you most probably have had them in salads, sauces and more popularly, fruit rojak here in Singapore – a spicy fruit and vegetable salad dish. The unique scent of torch ginger is what makes Asam Laksa stand out and if you do not have this ingredient, there is simply no substitute for it.

Now, back to the recipe!

Once completed, taste and adjust the broth if needed. Remember, asam laksa needs to have an intense sour note and a sweetness in the background to balance, so add more tamarind liquid or gula melaka if needed. 

Finally, add fish sauce for some natural saltiness and there you have it! Your Asam Laksa broth. Keep on low medium heat to keep hot while you serve your noodles.

To assemble, I suggest one more step which is to blanch the noodles and torn lettuce leaves. We Asians love PIPING HOT soup, so flash blanching the noodles in boiling water first before sieving and pouring hot broth over them is actually not an optional step at all.

Add the blanched noodles and lettuce into a serving bowl. Stir and pour a ladleful of the laksa broth over the noodles. Make sure that you stir the pot to get a good ladleful of the meaty broth as the fish flakes tend to settle at the bottom of the pot. Garnish with all the aromatics and serve with a spoonful of lightly diluted prawn paste. Slurp away to laksa heaven!