Book of Days Tales

On this date in 1841, the sultan of Brunei made James Brooke the rajah of Sarawak as a reward for restoring him to the throne of his sultanate.  Sir James Brooke KCB (1803— 1868 ), was a British soldier and adventurer who was born and raised during the Company Raj of the British East India Company in India. After schooling in England, he served as an officer in the Bengal Army, was wounded, and resigned his commission. He then bought a ship and sailed out to the Malay Archipelago where, by helping to crush a rebellion, he became governor of Sarawak. He then vigorously suppressed piracy in the region and, in the ensuing turmoil, restored the sultan of Brunei to his throne. He subsequently ruled Sarawak until his death, and his descendants formed a dynasty that reigned until 1946.

Sarawak laksa is the obvious recipe du jour..  There are multiple versions of the dish depending on cooks’ preferences but usually include a soup rich with spices and coconut, rice vermicelli noodles, prawn, chicken, bean sprouts and strips of omelet, and served with sambal belacan and limes. This recipe makes everything from scratch but you can find laksa paste for sale online, eliminating some of the steps here, but making an inferior broth.

Ingredients

1 whole chicken

750 gm large raw prawns, shelled, tails intact, intestinal tract removed, shells reserved

60 ml (¼ cup) neutral oil

400 ml coconut cream

300 gm dried rice vermicelli noodles

150 gm bean sprouts

4 eggs

pinch of salt

cucumber, thinly sliced, to serve

coriander, to serve

sambal belacan, to serve

limes wedges, to serve

Dry spices

50 gm cumin seeds

100 gm coriander seeds

6 star anise

8 cloves

1 piece nutmeg

8 cardamom pods

Rempah

2 cm piece toasted belacan

10 red Asian shallots or 4 small red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

12 garlic cloves, peeled

10 cm galangal, peeled and roughly chopped

6 long red chiles, roughly chopped

6 dried red chiles, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained

4 lemongrass stalks, white parts only, chopped

50 gm candlenuts

210 gm (1½ cups) unsalted roasted peanuts

Instructions

Place the chicken in a large saucepan, pour in enough cold water to cover well. Bring to a gentle simmer, skimming any scum that rises to the surface. Simmer for 45 minutes, then remove the chicken, reserving the stock. When cool enough to handle, shred and reserve the meat from the chicken and return the bones to the stock along with the reserved prawn shells. Simmer for about 1 hour, then strain and discard the solids. Return the stock to a clean pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the prawns and poach for about 2 minutes or until just cooked. Remove the prawns and set aside until ready to serve.

Meanwhile, toast the dry spices in a large dry frying pan over medium heat until fragrant. Transfer to a spice grinder and blitz into a fine powder.

For the rempah, place all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and blitz into a smooth paste, adding a little water if needed.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add about 2 cups of the rempah. Fry for 20 minutes or until very fragrant and the oil has separated from the paste. Stir in the ground spices until well combined. Add 1.5 liters of the stock, bring to a simmer, then simmer for about 5 minutes. If you like you can strain the stock before adding to remove any particles. Add the coconut cream and bring to a simmer again. Taste and adjust for seasoning. 

Place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and pour boiling water over them. Stand for 10 minutes, then drain and set aside. Blanche the bean sprouts in the boiling water for 30 seconds and set aside.

For the omelet, beat the eggs very well and add a pinch of salt. Heat a large non – stick frying pan over medium heat, then lightly grease. Pour just enough egg into the pan to coat the base, tilting the pan as you go. Cook until just set, then remove and repeat with the remaining egg mixture, stacking the egg sheets on top of each other as you go. Roll up the sheets into a cylinder, then slice into thins strips.

To assemble the laksa, place the noodles in a serving bowl and ladle the laksa soup over them. Top with the chicken, prawns, cucumber, egg strips and coriander. Serve with sambal belacan and lime wedges.