Katong Laksa

With baby squid & hot mint

SINGAPORE (PERANAKAN)

This Peranakan dish of slippery thick rice vermicelli in spicy coconut broth is one of Singapore’s greatest culinary exports. Though laksa can be found in many places in Singapore and Malaysia, it’s a stretch of road in Singapore that is most famous for this dish, where stalls are lined up in a fierce competitive noodle battle. They have developed a style of laksa the locals refer to as katong laksa: the noodles are snipped into short strands so that you can slurp your bowl up with just a spoon. The usual toppings include prawns and cockles, but I use whatever I fancy as long as it fits conveniently into a spoon – baby squid and eggs are an especially good combination. The peppery, fragrant hot mint is a defining component of laksa though; there is a reason why this herb is also commonly called ‘laksa leaf’.

Serves 4
For the rempah (spice paste)
For the laksa broth
To serve
  1. Soak the dried chillies and shrimps in separate bowls of warm water for 30 minutes to soften. Meanwhile, toast the belachan in a dry pan, smashing it with a spatula until it becomes dry, powdery, and (arguably) fragrant.
  2. Drain the chillies and dried shrimps, reserving the soaking liquid from the shrimps. Pound all the ingredients for the rempah together in a mortar and pestle until you get a fine paste, starting with the tougher, dry ingredients first before moving on to the wet. Alternatively, do this in a food processor.
  3. Put the oil into a large pot and sauté the rempah over a low heat for 45 minutes, until browned and fragrant. The slow frying coaxes the flavours out better and is what makes your laksa so special.
  4. Turn the heat up to medium, then add the thick cream floating on top of the coconut milk to the pot and continue frying. Pour in the thin coconut milk and the reserved dried shrimp stock and gently bring to the boil. Season to taste with salt and sugar.
  5. Prepare the squid by separating the tentacles from the tubes and slicing the tubes crosswise into 3 to 4 pieces. Tip the squid into the broth and cook on a high heat for about 5 seconds, until they just turn opaque, then turn the heat off. Be careful not to overcook or the squid will have a rubbery texture.
  6. Cook the rice vermicelli according to packet instructions. Drain, then rinse with cool water to prevent them from clumping, snipping them into shorter strands with a pair of scissors. Divide between bowls.
  7. Now to prepare the toppings. Cut the hard-boiled eggs into small wedges. Blanch the beansprouts in boiling water for 30 seconds, then drain. Slice the hot mint as finely as you can. Top each bowl of noodles with sliced egg and beansprouts, then ladle over the hot laksa broth along with the squid rings. Finish with the shredded hot mint and a dollop of sambal if you like.