Laksa

Laksa is a spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia. Laksa consists of various types of noodles, most commonly thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, prawns or fish. Most variations of laksa are prepared with a rich and spicy coconut curry soup or a broth seasoned with a souring ingredient like tamarind or Garcinia atroviridis.
Originating from Peranakan Chinese cuisine, laksa recipes are commonly served in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Origin

Laksa is a dish of Peranakan Chinese origin, with a variety of ingredients and preparation processes that vary greatly by region. Because laksa has different varieties across the region, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of the dish. Nevertheless, a number of laksa recipes have been developed along the trade channels of Southeast Asia—where the ports of Singapore, Penang, Medan, Malacca, Palembang, and Batavia are the major stops along the historic spice route. The intensive trade links among these port cities enable exchanges of ideas to take place, including sharing recipes.
There are various theories about the origins of laksa. One goes back to the 15th-century Ming Chinese naval expeditions led by Zheng He, whose armada navigated Maritime Southeast Asia. Overseas Chinese migrants had settled in various parts of Maritime Southeast Asia, long before Zheng He's expedition. However, it was after this that the number of Chinese migrants and traders significantly increased. These Chinese men intermarried into the local populations, and together they formed mixed-race communities called the Peranakan Chinese or Straits Chinese.
In Malaysia, the earliest variant of laksa is believed to have been introduced by the Peranakan Chinese in Malacca. The name laksa is derived from the word spicy and grainy or sandy in the Min Chinese dialect, which denotes the spicy taste and the grainy texture of laksa, since the Peranakan Malay is a creole language that is heavily influenced by a dialect of Hokkien. An early mention of "laksa" in the English language can be found in a Royal Geographical Society journal from 1846.
In Singapore, the dish is believed to have been created after interaction between the Peranakan Chinese with local Singaporean Malays.
Another theory is that the word laksa is theorised to come from an ancient Persian word for "noodles". According to Denys Lombard in the book Le carrefour Javanais. Essai d'histoire globale II, one of the earliest record of the word laksa to describe noodles was found in the Javanese Biluluk inscription dated from 1391 of Majapahit era that mentions the word hanglaksa. Hanglaksa in Kawi means "vermicelli maker". In Sanskrit, laksa means "one hundred thousand", referring to numerous strands of the vermicelli. The term laksa, or lakhshah, is also believed to have come from Persian or Hindi, which refer to a kind of vermicelli.
In traditional Sundanese community of Baduy in Banten province, there is a harvest ceremony involving the making of laksa, called ngalaksa ceremony. Ngalaksa is a Sundanese traditional harvest thanksgiving ceremony, in which a traditional noodle-like laksa dish made of rice flour is prepared and consumed communally. In old Sundanese language the term laksa also means "noodle", which is the same meaning as in Javanese Kawi counterpart.
In Indonesia, the dish is believed to have been born from the mixing of the cultures and cooking practices of local people and Chinese immigrants. Historians believe laksa is a dish that was born from actual intermarriage. In early coastal pecinan in maritime Southeast Asia, it was only Chinese men that ventured abroad out from China to trade. When settling down in the new town, these Chinese traders and sailors set out to find local wives, and these women began incorporating local spices and coconut milk into Chinese noodle soup served to their husbands. This creates the hybrid Chinese-local culture called Peranakan culture. As Peranakan Chinese communities have blended their ancestors' culture with local culture, Peranakan communities in different places now demonstrate diversity according to the local flavour.

Ingredients

A wide variety of laksa exists in Southeast Asia, with regional and vendor-specific differences. Laksa can be broadly categorized by its two main ingredients: noodles and soup. Most preparations of laksa are garnished with herbs. Two of the most widely used herbs are mint and Vietnamese coriander, known in Malay as daun kesum or by its colloquial name daun laksa "laksa leaf". Another popular garnish used for many laksa recipes is the unopened flower bud of the torch ginger, usually sliced or shredded.

Noodles

Thick rice noodles, also known as "laksa noodles" are most commonly used, although thin rice vermicelli are also common. Some laksa variants might use fresh rice noodles handmade from scratch, other types of noodles; Johor laksa for example uses wheat-based spaghetti, while Kelantanese laksam is served with wide strips of rice noodle rolls similar in texture to shahe fen.

Soup

The type of Laksa is generally based upon the soup base employed in its recipe; either rich and savoury coconut milk, fresh and sour asam, or a combination of those two.
Laksa with a rich and strongly spiced coconut gravy is typically described in Malaysia and Singapore as Laksa Lemak or Nyonya Laksa. Lemak is a Malay culinary description that specifically refers to the presence of coconut milk which adds a distinctive richness to a dish, whereas Nyonya alludes to the dish's Peranakan origins and the role of women in Peranakan cuisine. "Laksa" is also an alternate name used for curry mee, a similar coconut soup noodle dish widely popular within the region which is sometimes known as curry laksa. The most common toppings for the various versions of coconut soup laksa include eggs, deep-fried tofu, beansprouts, and herbs, with a spoonful of sambal chilli paste on the side as a relish.
The Malay word asam refers to any ingredient that makes a dish taste sour or tamarind slice, which comes from a different tree despite its name). The main ingredients for tamarind-based laksa typically include shredded fish, normally mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillies, pineapple, mint leaves, laksa leaves, and shredded torch ginger flower. Preparations for tamarind-based laksa usually produce tangy, spicy, sour flavours. This type of Laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles and topped off with otak udang or hae ko, a thick sweet shrimp paste.
In Indonesia, most laksa variants are coconut milk-based soups. Common spices include turmeric, coriander, candlenut, lemongrass, garlic, shallot, and pepper cooked in coconut milk. Widely available daun kemangi is commonly used instead of daun kesum commonly used in Malaysia and Singapore. Thin rice vermicelli is most commonly used, instead of thick rice noodle. Some recipes might even add slices of ketupat or lontong rice cake.

Regional variations

Singapore

Katong Laksa, from the Singaporean residential neighbourhood of Katong, is a variant of Singapore-style Laksa Lemak or Singapore Laksa. The noodles in Katong Laksa are normally cut into smaller pieces so that the entire dish can be eaten with a spoon alone, without chopsticks or a fork. Another hallmark feature of this laksa is the gravy thickened not just with coconut milk but ground dried shrimp, which gives the soup its characteristic "sandy" texture.
Siglap Laksa from the neighbourhood of Kampung Siglap resembles Johor laksa but it is eaten with laksa noodles instead of spaghetti. The laksa is accompanied by cucumber, bean sprouts, laksa leaves and a dollop of sambal.
Indonesia
Baduy Laksa possibly is one of the oldest and the most traditional laksa variant in Indonesia. Unlike commonly known laksa recipes as a spicy noodle soup dish, laksa baduy's form is more akin to lontong and lepet rice cake. Laksa baduy is a type of traditional food in a form of wide noodles similar to kwetiau made from rice flour. The rice flour dough is boiled in water spiced with papagan combrang, then made into noodles. Baduy laksa is wrapped in congkok leaf or in upih. Laksa baduy is treated as a traditional dish prerequisite for ngalaksa ceremony conducted by Baduy people, thus not widely available nor commonly sold.
Banjar Laksa is a laksa variant from Indonesian city of Banjarmasin that has snakehead as one of its ingredients. Similar to Palembang Lakso, instead of rice noodle or vermicelli, Banjar Laksa uses steamed noodle-like balls, made from rice flour paste, served in a thick yellowish soup made from coconut milk, ground spices, and snakehead fish broth. Sprinkles of fried shallots and hard-boiled duck egg might also be added.
Betawi Laksa is a laksa variant from Jakarta, Indonesia, is similar to Bogor Laksa. However, Betawi Laksa is accompanied with basil leaves, chives, rice vermicelli, and perkedel. The thick yellowish coconut milk based soup contains ground to give it unique taste.
Bogor Laksa is perhaps the most famous laksa variant in Indonesia from Bogor, West Java. The thick yellowish coconut milk-based soup is a mixture of shallot, garlic, candlenut, turmeric, coriander, lemongrass and salt. It has a distinct earthy and nutty flavour acquired from oncom and is served with ketupat as well as sambal cuka.
Cibinong Laksa from Cibinong, a town between Bogor and Jakarta is similar to Bogor Laksa, however no oncom is added. The soup is a mixture of spices in coconut milk and it is served with bean sprout, rice vermicelli, hard-boiled eggs, cooked shredded chicken, fried shallots, and Indonesian lemon-basil leaves.
Laksa Ambon from Ambon, Maluku, a spicy stir-fried cellophane noodles. It could be served as a condiment of nasi kuning ambon.
Laksa Medan, a laksa dish from Medan, North Sumatra. The main ingredients of the soup are fish and kecombrang.
Laksa Tambelan from the Indonesian islands of Tambelan uses flaked sauteed ikan tongkol asap instead of fresh fish. The dish consists of sagoo noodles, that is served in spicy coconut-based stock made of kerisik.
Laksa Tangerang is a laksa variant from Tangerang, Indonesia. The main ingredients of Tangerang Laksa are chicken stock, mung beans, potatoes and chives. Tangerang Laksa consists of handmade noodles from the flour of boiled white rice and a thick yellow gravy similar to Bogor Laksa. Additionally, grated coconut and green beans are also added to give a sweet taste effect. Tangerang Laksa is valued for a balanced consistency of its coconut milk soup, which is not too thick or too watery.
Lakse Kuah is a specialty of Indonesian island of Natuna, is similar to Terengganu Laksa Kuah Merah. The dish consists of noodles made of sago and mashed tongkol flesh and served in spicy coconut milk gravy made of the spice mixture. Lakse Kuah is usually served with sambal terasi and daun salam.
Palembang Laksan is a specialty of Indonesian city of Palembang. It consists of sliced fishcake that is served in coconut milk-shrimp broth based soup, sprinkled with fried shallots.
Palembang Celimpungan is also a specialty of Palembang. The dish consists of a gravy similar to Laksan with a ball or oval-shaped fishcakes.
Palembang Burgo is a laksa variant from Palembang. Burgo itself refers to its filling, made from rice flour and sago flour that is processed to resemble a thin omelette. The broth is pale white, made from coconut milk and various spices. It is usually accompanied with fish sauce, boiled eggs, and fried onions.
Palembang Lakso is a laksa variant from Palembang. Unlike Laksan, Lakso consists of noodle-like steamed sago paste but served in Burgo-like coconut milk soup with only an addition of turmeric and sprinkled with fried shallots.