I know I’ve posted various iterations of this recipe in the past; this one has been adapted to reflect the steps and ingredients I used during the TAFE NSW Open Day Masterclass I ran last week.

Serves 8

Laksa Nyonya Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups onion, quartered
• 1/3 cup garlic cloves
• 4 Tbsps minced galangal
• 2 Tbsps minced turmeric
• 1 1/2 cm slice belacan (shrimp paste)
• 2/3 cup soaked dried shrimp
• 8 inch length of lemongrass
• 2 cups chilli paste (from soaked, blended dried chillies, or mild fresh chillies)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chicken stock granules*
• 300 ml vegetable oil

*Preferred brand is Knorr and acceptable substitute is 1 chicken stock cube per 1 Tbsp chicken stock granules

METHOD:

1. In a food processor or Thermomix/Thermocook, blend all spice ingredients until smooth
2. Transfer into pan and fry on low to medium heat until most of the moisture has evaporated.
3. Add oil and fry until it separates and mixture is lightly browned.
4. Add chicken powder and sugar and cook until dissolved.
5. Store in jars and refrigerate until use.
6. To make laksa soup, combine 1 cup paste with 1.4L water or stock plus 600ml coconut cream.
7. Bring to a boil, adjust flavour (add more paste if necessary), then pour over separately blanched noodles, vegetables, meat, seafood etc. Top with laksa leaves and serve.

The post Laksa Nyonya Recipe from My TAFE NSW Masterclass Presentation first appeared on Jackie M..

Here is the recipe and replay of Episode 4 of the Southeast Asian Cooking Masterclass Series –

Recipe – Laksa Nyonya

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup onion, quartered
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1 inch galangal
• 1 inch turmeric
• 1/2 Tbsp belacan powder
• 4 Tbsp soaked dried shrimp
• 2 inch length of lemongrass
• 1/2 cup chilli paste (from soaked, blended dried chillies, or mild fresh chillies)
• 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp chicken stock granules*
• 100 ml vegetable oil

*Preferred brand is Knorr and acceptable substitute is 1 chicken stock cube per 1 Tbsp chicken stock granules

For the soup –

• 1/2 cup laksa paste
• 250 ml coconut cream
• 3 cups water
• 5 tofu puffs, halved
• 500 g noodles, blanched
• 1/2 Lebanese cucumber, cut into thin strips
• 100 g Beansprouts
• 2 sprigs laksa leaves, aka Vietnamese mint (optional)
• 1 boiled egg, peeled and halved
• Poached seafood or chicken slices as desired

METHOD:

1. Place onion in Thermocook jar. Purée 5 seconds | Speed 7. Remove and sieve to extract excess liquid (optional).
2. Combine rest of spice ingredients in bowl. Mill 7 seconds | Speed 10.
3. Add puréed onion and oil.
4. Sauté for 10 minutes | 100°C | Speed 2 | measuring cup off.
5. Add chicken stock granules and sugar and cook a further 3 minutes.
6. Remove and store in fridge or freezer.

To make laksa soup –

1. Combine ½ cup laksa paste with ½ cup coconut cream and 3 cups water in Thermocook jar. Bring to a boil.
2. Noodles/vegetables and other garnishes (meat/seafood) can be steamed in steamer basket for 8 minutes while soup is being made, or they can be poached separately.
3. Place noodles etc. in bowl, top with soup and serve.

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The post How to Make Laksa Nyonya (Thermocook Method) first appeared on Jackie M..

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INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup onion, quartered
• 6 cloves minced garlic
• 1 inch galangal
• 1 inch turmeric
• 1/2 Tbsp belacan powder
• 4 Tbsp soaked dried shrimp
• 2 inch length of lemongrass
• 1/4 cup chilli paste (from soaked, blended dried chillies, or mild fresh chillies

• 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar
• 2 Tbsp chicken stock granules
• 100 ml vegetable oil

For the soup –

• 1/2 cup laksa paste
• 250 ml coconut cream
• 3 cups water
• 5 tofu puffs, halved
• 500 g noodles, blanched
• 1/2 Lebanese cucumber, cut into thin strips
• 100 g beansprouts
• 2 sprigs laksa leaves, aka Vietnamese mint (optional)
• Poached seafood or chicken slices as desired
• 1 boiled egg, peeled and halved

METHOD:

1. Place onion in Thermomix bowl. Puree 5 seconds / Speed 7. Remove and sieve to extract excess liquid (optional).
2. Combine rest of spice ingredients in bowl. Mill 7 seconds / Speed 10.
3. Add puréed onion and oil.
4. Cook for 30 mins / 100°C / Speed 1.5 / measuring cup off.
5. Add chicken stock granules and sugar and cook a further 3 minutes.
6. Remove and store in fridge or freezer.

To make laksa soup –

1. Combine ½ cup laksa paste with ½ cup coconut cream and 3 cups water in Thermomix bowl. Bring to a boil.
2. Noodles/vegetables and other garnishes (meat/seafood) can be steamed in steamer basket for 8 minutes while soup is being made, or they can be poached separately.
3. Place noodles etc. in bowl, top with soup and serve.

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For the record, my Laksa Nyonya refers to the laksa inspired by Melaka’s nyonya culture. There are, broadly, (I’m emphasizing this word to pre-empt complaints that I’ve missed out on mentioning the pockets of Nyonya populations in other parts of Malaysia/Indonesia/Thailand/Singapore with their own culinary nuances – yes, I’m aware of that) two concentrations of Nyonya settlements in the peninsula – in Melaka and Penang.

For the uninitiated, Nyonya/Baba/Peranakan are terms used to refer to Chinese settlers in the Malay straits between the 15th and 17th centuries; as most of these early immigrants were male, they intermarried with local women, resulting in (among other things) a cuisine that reflects this kind of fusion of flavours.

Generally, the southern (Melaka-Singapore) Nyonya food tends to employ a lot of creamy coconut flavours, whereas up north in Penang, the influence of Thailand is evident through the sour notes in its dishes (hence Asam Laksa).

For the record, the highlight of my laksa adventure in Penang was in fact something called Siamese laksa (which despite its name does not taste like the typical laksa you might find in Thailand) – this was something akin to a combination of Asam Laksa and Laksa Lemak – ie. it’s sour but also quite rich and coconut-y. I’m told this is also sometimes referred to as Asam Laksa Lemak – which makes sense. Quite delicious – I stumbled upon the place at the bottom of Kek Lok Si Temple – and the operator is actually a Thai lady married to a local man.

Anyway, extended preamble aside, here’s the recipe for my Laksa Nyonya – and it’s my own twist on a dish that is generally seen to be a time-consuming exercise if made from scratch. I employ a lot of hacks in my cooking thanks to years of running my now-defunct restaurant – something borne out of necessity because labour was and continues to be an ongoing problem in my business.

Laksa Nyonya in 15 Minutes

Click to watch on YouTube >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SYOzvyIgTw

Ingredients for laksa paste –

• 1 cup fried shallots

• ¼ cup minced garlic

• 1/2 Tbsp galangal powder

• 1 tsp turmeric powder

• 1 Tbsp belacan powder

• ¼ cup minced dried shrimp

• 2 ½ Tbsp minced lemongrass

• ½ – ¾ cup chilli paste (from soaked, blended dried chillies)

• 3 Tbsp sugar

• 4 Tbsp chicken stock granules

• 200 ml vegetable oil

For the soup –

1/2 cup laksa paste

250 ml coconut cream
3 cups water
5 Tofu puffs, halved

500 g noodles, blanched
1/2 Lebanese cucumber, cut into thin strips
100 g Beansprouts
2 sprigs laksa leaves, aka Vietnamese mint, optional
Poached seafood or chicken slices as desired.
1 boiled egg, peeled and halved

The post How to Make Laksa Nyonya in 15 Minutes first appeared on Jackie M..

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These are authentic, real, NOT FAKE, feedback about my most recent Malaysian cooking Masterclasses –

 “YOUR DA BEST!!!!”
– Tom B Lee Bu, Professor Emeritus, English Literature, Oxford.

“That Pad Thai Masterclass was incredible. Thanks for bringing me closer to mastering Malaysian food!”
– Nigel, food blogger at pretentiouslicious.com (last seen leaving the class on Sunday. His family has filed a missing persons report).

“Awesome to meet Kyle’s co-host, though I have to say, things must be rough at 2Day FM for you to be moonlighting as a cook. P.S. I think I like you with long hair better, plus, sunscreen, girlfriend!”
– O.B Livious, radio junkie

“Jacqui /Jacky M (N?) truly is THE WORLD’S MOST RECOGNISABLE NAME in Malaysian food!”
– Tim Tam (ps. I’m being held against my will. Send help.)

Fooled you, didn’t it? I guess I should’ve asked my real participants to fill out customer satisfaction surveys, but that would entail proper “customer service” – something I’ve never been accused of mastering.

Over the course of two days we covered Laksas of Malaysia and CKT/Radish Cake/Popiah etc.

Both classes were at capacity (thank God for ring-ins. j/k).

Three of the four dishes each day turned out fine; as the Meatloaf classic goes – Three Out of Four Ain’t Bad.

In all seriousness though, I had a great time (never mind the participants. j/k, again.) – and one surprising discovery for me was that almost everyone who signed up had first connected with me once upon a time via Twitter.

Which has inspired me to get back into the Twitter groove after putting it on autopilot the last year or so.

So, Twitterverse aka the angriest place on the internet, the Noodle Nazi is back (cue angry tweets about my glib use of “Nazi”).

Thank you very much to everyone who came along; remember our secret code word – “Agak-Agak”!

For enquiries about future classes or to crack the meaning behind our secret code word, please email me at jackie(at)jackiem.com.au .

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