Malaysian Curry Seafood Laksa

[flower22]

Ingredients
PRAWN STOCK AND SEAFOOD
1 lb Raw prawns
1 lb Fish fillets
1/4 ts Pepper
1 ts Salt
4 oz Crab meat or 2 crabs; cooked and cut into pieces
5 T Oil
8 c water
2 ts Salt
1 lb Rice vermicelli (mee hoon)
1 lb Fresh bean sprouts
1 lg Cucumber;peeled and coarsely grated
8 Spring onions (scallions)
1/2 c Fresh mint leaves; firmly packed


SOUP
2 md Onions; quartered; finely sliced
2 cl Garlic; finely chopped
2 ts Grated lemon rind; finely chopped
2 ts Laos powder
8 Candlenuts; finely grated
6 Dried chillies; seeds removed
2 ts Dried shrimp paste (belacan)
2 ts Ground turmeric
4 ts Ground coriander
Prawn stock with seafood (see above)
8 c Coconut milk
2 ts Sugar
2 1/2 ts Salt; or to taste


Preperation ;

Laos Powder
A very delicate spice sold in powder form. Also known as kha in Thai cooking. Available in Asian groceries.
Candlenut
A hard nut with lots of oil used to flavor curries. Also known as kemiri (Indonesian) or buah keras (Malay). Available in Asian groceries.
Method
Shell and devein prawns, reserving shells and heads. Drain these thoroughly. Remove any bones and skin from fish fillets and using a chopper, chop very finely. Mix in the salt and pepper and shape into small balls, or into a sausage-shaped roll and divide into finger-width slices. Pick over crab meat and discard any bony tissue, or chop the whole crabs into pieces after removing top shell and fibrous tissue.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a saucepan and when very hot throw in the prawn heads and shells and fry until they turn bright red. Add 8 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt, cover and simmer 20-30 minutes, then strain. Discard shells and heads. Return the stock to the fire, drop in the fish balls or slices and the prawns, cut into pieces if large. Return to the boil, then lower heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.

Scald the rice vermicelli by pouring boiling water over it, then allow it to drain in a colander. Or soak it in warm water for 5-10 minutes, drain well. Scald the bean sprouts by pouring boiling water over. Rinse in cold water, washing off any loose skins. Pinch off straggly brown "tails." Slice spring onions finely, roughly chop mint leaves. Set aside each ingredient separately] until serving time.

TO MAKE THE SOUP;
Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil and fry the onions, garlic, and lemon rind until onions are golden. Stir in the laos powder, candlenuts, chillies, blacan, turmeric and coriander. Add the prawn stock and when the soup comes to the boil add the coconut milk, sugar, and salt. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes, stirring to prevent coconut milk curdling.

In each bowl, arrange a ladle of the vermicelli, enough to two-thirds fill the bowl. Add a handful of bean sprouts, a tablespoon each of cucumber, and sliced spring onions. Add also a large pinch of mint. Pour the boiling soup over and serve immediately. A hot sambal can be served along with this for individuals to add to their portion if desired.

Serves 8-10.

[flower22]

Ingredients
15g tamarind paste
16 large raw prawns with shell
500ml chicken stock
1-2 medium hot red chillies, roughly chopped
30g fresh ginger, roughly chopped
3 fat cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 bunch coriander with roots* washed and roughly chopped
50ml sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
250g ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
400ml coconut milk
1 red pepper, finely sliced
Asian fish sauce, to taste
200g dried rice vermicelli noodles, cooked according to the packet instructions
A handful of fresh mint leaves
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 lime, quartered
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* Oriental shops usually sell coriander with its roots, but don't worry if you can't find it like that; it just gives a deeper coriander flavour to the dish.

Preperation;
Place the tamarind paste in a small bowl. Cover with 150ml hot water and roughly break up with a fork. Leave to soak while you prepare the prawns.

Wash and peel the prawns, saving their shells as you do so. Put the shells in a saucepan with the stock and simmer for 20 minutes, then strain and discard the shells.

Meanwhile, clean the prawns by running a knife down the length of their backs and removing their thin black digestive thread. Rinse once again, pat dry and chill, covered, until needed. Using your hands, rub the tamarind paste to loosen as much of the pulp as possible from the stones. Strain into the stock.

Put the chillies, ginger, garlic and fresh coriander in a food processor with the sesame oil. Purée until it forms a paste, then transfer to a saucepan. Add the ground coriander seeds and set over a medium heat. Stir-fry until it begins to release a delicious aroma, then add the tomatoes and cook until they form a thick paste. Mix in the stock and coconut milk. Bring up to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the prawns and sliced pepper and simmer for 2 minutes or until the prawns are pink and just cooked. Season to taste with about 1 teaspoon fish sauce. Divide the rice noodles between 4 large bowls and ladle in the spicy prawn soup. Top with fresh mint leaves and sliced spring onions and serve with lime wedges.

Serves upto 4

[flower22]

Ingredients:

12 king prawns (uncooked)

1 big onion (finely chopped)

500 grams can finely crushed
red tomatoes

vegetable oil

3 garlic cloves crushed
1 teaspoon crushed ginger
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 sprig of thyme & 1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
2 boiled eggs sliced

1 tablespoon lemon juice
(salt and pepper to taste)

Preperation;
Shell prawns keeping the tail pieces. Keep the shells. Remove the dorsal vein off the prawns by slightly slicing open the prawns' dorsal part lengthwise. Wash and put aside.

Keep the shells and place in blender to form a fine paste. Boil in 500 ml of water until water is reduced by half. Blend shell paste again and pass through a very fine sieve.
Meanwhile hard boil the eggs. Allow to cool, shell and cut into thick slices.

Fry chopped onions in a small quantity of oil until slightly cooked. Add the garlic, ginger and tomato paste. Stir and allow to simmer for 30 seconds or until the chopped onions are cooked and become transparent. Add the finely crushed tomatoes and the thyme. Mix well together and allow to simmer until the sauce is well blended and the tomatoes cooked. Gradually, add the prawn shell sauce and allow to simmer. Allow the sauce to thicken to your preference. Stir at intervals to avoid the sauce burning. Add the lemon juice. Mix well together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add the chopped parsley and the prawns. Simmer and allow the prawns to cook for 5 minutes or until only just cooked. Do not overcook.