Friday 20 June 2008

Laksa Johor

HB loves to play host. Loves having friends & family over. I enjoy cooking. So that makes a splendid arrangement. Him hosting, me cooking... ;-) But there are times when the table turns. Whenever the theme is BBQ. His BBQ sauce is a signature among friends.

Laksa Johor is quite regular served on my dining cum buffet table apart me not a Johorean. As many know, this type of laksa uses spaghetti as the pasta. Normally, as to accommodate kids or perhaps even adults who do not or just not adventurous enough to try new food, I also prepare bolognaise sauce to eat with the spaghetti.

OK, let's get to business. I have come across a few recipes of Laksa Johor but I like this one best because it is very simple. The taste? Well... once I witnessed HB diligently helping his laksa in record time, I might as well stick to the simplest ;-)

First & foremost when it comes to laksa, the fish is very important. Since I like simplicity, I use the Spanish Mackerel (ikan tenggiri) which has lots of flesh but less bone. Spare me the time of deboning the fish.

In this recipe I use 1 normal size Spanich Mackerel. Cleaned, cut, boiled & blended. Do not throw away the broth.

Blended fish



The broth of the fish


While waiting for the fish, blend about an inch of ginger, & knobs, very much like ginger but milder), shallots & garlics.

The blended items


Now, the cooking begins. Sautee the blended ingredients.



Once golden, add in a packet of fish curry & some chilly paste. Sautee again until the paste is cooked.



After that, add in 2 tbsp of grinded dried shrimp. Stir well.


Next is to join in the broth & 1 inch & a half of lightly pounded galangal (lengkuas - pale yellow rootstalk with pink skin



And also the blended fish.



Next is to combine a packet of coconut paste (kerisik) into the pot.



Simmer until it boils & add in 5-6 tbsp of coconut milk.



Add salt to taste & it's ready



My Laksa Johor gravy is very thick as how HB loves it. As mentioned earlier, instead of normal lasksa pasta, Laksa Johor uses spaghetti. The spaghetti is served in shapes. I do not really know how the Johoreans shape their spaghetti but this is how I normally do mine.




And this is how I prepare the cucumber which is to be eaten with the laksa.




I do not put the leftover cucumber seeds to waste. Check out Wardah & Balqis enjoying their home spa... ;-)



These are some of the condiments that also go with my Laksa Johor.


I am aware that other condiments like bean sprouts, salted reddish, Vietnamese coriander(daun kesum) are quite common. Anyhow, mine are simply - clockwise onions, long beans, torch ginger (bunga kantan), calamansi.

Also the Sambal Belacan which I have made some changes to it. HB does not take belacan, hence my sambal is merely fresh chillies & onions pounded together with a bit of salt.


This is how the laksa is served. First, put the spaghetti in a bowl followed by the condiments & lastly the gravy. Here is how I like mine.


And the girls like theirs.

11 comments:

Yatie_T said...

Jabishah,
your blog is awesome. Please make sure you will tersesat kat Florida, instead of me cooking I think you should cook for us. HB doesn't eat seafood so I'm missing alot of good food. Love your tempe and I was hooked with it when I was studying in Johor.

jabishah said...

Hi Yatie,
OK, will try my best to tersesat in Florida with tempe in the luggage.. ;-) Hehehe.. tx. Drop by anytime.

Lee said...

Hi Jabishah, next time I pop over your blog I will standyby put a tissue over my keyboard...very dangerous...tengok your laksa Johor...how you mix all those ingredients, spices...can get the scent here too...that limau on top of the laksa is a killer punch!
I have eaten couple of times this Laksa Johor long time ago, as well Laksa Perlis, Kelantan...and Nonya laksa...
to me any laksa is good...as long made with love like yours.
Gosh, if I your neighbour....? Habis cherita! Ha ha.
Happy cooking, Jabishah, Lee.

jabishah said...

Hello Uncle,
Hahaha..! May I know,is it because you were drooling or crying that you needed tissue to cover your keyboard? Perhaps both ;-) Drooling for the food & crying for missing home.
The laksa I ever cooked was frm johor & sarawak. Both I love but not many can appreciate laksa sarawak. So, I cooked once & that was it..
True, I love neighbours who enjoy my cooking. Last time I had a neighbour whose kids looked forward to my cooking. Almost everyday, their maid cooked for them. No varieties, I noticed. So, whenever I had extra foods I would definitely shared with them.
Take care.
ps- how's the kerabu?

Wooly said...

Dear Jabishah,

I have to tell you I LOVE your blog...mainly because of the beautiful songs which you put inside. Ning Baizura, Sheila Majid,...You have fabulous taste! Not only that, I like the way you present the recipes with beautiful step by step photos.

I was looking for laksa Johor recipe and I stumbled upon your blog which I'm glad I did. I left your blog on my pc the whole day just to listen to the songs. Brings back those good memories :)

I'm going to give your recipe for laksa Johor a try but I don't have asam gelugor. I didn't stock up on this ingredient when I balik kampung. It's not available in stores here in Dubai. Do you think it will affect the taste of the laksa much? Wish me luck!

Thanx again for your beautiful blog.

Kind Regards,
Lai Yin

jabishah said...

Hello there Lai Yin,

Glad to know you love it. Tq.Do visit again but I have to warn you that this blog can be static for quite some time ;-)

I guess we are abt the same age. Grew up with those songs esp Ning's & Sheila's.

Regarding the asam gelugor in my laksa johor recipe, I think you got the recipe mixed up or did you mean galangal (lengkuas)?

Anyway, have fun cooking. It is very simple... trust me.

Salt N Turmeric said...

Hi, Iv seen your comments at Yatie's a few times and now I found your blog when searching for mee rebus johor.

I love laksa johor! but tak confident nak buat sendiri. And also takde gang nak makan since hubby tak makan benda2 soupy. But i will def have to make this.

Farina

Anonymous said...

hye there ,

im pregnant and so craving for laksa johor and suddenly jump to your blog!thanks God!
i love it ! because its full with information that i need.. im going to my kitchen and start preparing all the ingredient..

thanks a lot.

wanie

Anonymous said...

I am Chinese. Grew up in JB in the 50s and 60s. In the good old days, Johor Laksa was a must at every Hari Raya for my Malay neighbours and of course I get invited. This is unique to Malays in JB. I don't know if the new generation still do it. My late mother learnt how to make it perfectly from the neighbours. She passed the recipe down to us. But I see you don't use raw bean sprout but long beans.

Anonymous said...

Hi Jabishah
I am the above anonymous Chinese again. I suspect that Johor Laksa originated from the Johor royalty who were very westernised then. Their preference for western food led to the use of the Italian spaghetti in the dish rather than local mee as in mee rebus. And of course the Johor mee rebus is another legend and unique to JB unlike the common mamak mee rebus.

Other than J Laksa, the other food common during Hari Raya were lontong, ketupat and rendang. Nasi minyak was another Johor favourite served during weddings and other kenduris. The Malay neighbours actually helped my mum to cook nasi minyak to celebrate my dad's promotion. Of course they used their big community pots and pans and their families came to celebrate with us. How I miss the good old days of the 1950s and 60s Don't happen anymore.

Anonymous said...

hi..this person take your photos and claim that its her photos..

http://cahayain93.blogspot.com/2012/08/laksa-johor-sesuci-lebaran.html