As part of #ThePurrfectCity series where I’m writing about Kuching, the Cat City of Sarawak, Malaysia, here’s a saliva inducing post on Sarawak laksa. Incidentally, this post is going to be part of a sub-series called #NoodlesOfSarawak where I hope to introduce you to a few noodle dishes that originate from Sarawak!
Contents:
- Laksa and its origins
- Introduction to Sarawak laksa
- Ingredients and how to cook it
- My favourite Sarawak laksa shop
- A brush with Hollywood
Laksa and its origins
Typical me, history is not my thing so I had to research this stuff online. Fun fact that I didn’t know, ‘laksa’ means ‘noodles’ in the ancient Persian language. Laksa (Wikipedia) is hugely popular in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand, and is basically a noodle dish in a spicy broth. There are many varieties but you’ll learn about the three main ones here!
It originates from the Peranakan cuisine and Peranakans (Wikipedia) are an ethnic group that came about when Chinese traders settled down along the Straits of Malacca (Maps) and married the local women. This all happened between the 15th and 17th centuries. In those times, the traders were almost always men and the interacial marriage created a unique cultural blend of Chinese and Malay customs that resonated in the Peranakan cuisine; definitely a must try when you’re visiting Malaysia!
Thus, was born the simple laksa dish that oftentimes, creates an explosion of flavours on your tongue!
Introduction to Sarawak laksa
There are three main types of laksa; curry laksa, asam laksa and a combination laksa, which the Sarawak laksa falls under. The curry laksa uses a coconut based broth and is quite curry-like in flavour and looks. The asam laksa uses a tamarind based broth that creates a unique sour flavour. The Sarawak laksa uses both coconut and tamarind in producing its broth and has a hearty dose of sambal belacan (spicy shrimp paste) added too. I don’t have any photos of the curry/asam laksa but you can click the links shown above to view photos from the Internet.
Needless to say, Sarawak laksa is hugely popular in Kuching! You can find some curry laksa but you’ll be super hard pressed to find any asam laksa here. Sarawak laksa is also a dish enjoyed by everyone because the ingredients can be made Halal quite easily.
Ingredients and how to cook it
The main ingredients in Sarawak laksa includes:
- Spicy broth made from sambal belacan (Wikipedia), tamarind, lemongrass, herbs and spices with a little coconut milk.
- Thin rice vermicelli noodles
- Beansprouts
- Shredded chicken
- Thin strips of egg omelette
- Boiled prawns/shrimps
- Garnished with coriander
- Sambal and a wedge of lime as condiments; folks normally top up on the spice level and squeeze the lime juice all over the noodles before eating
And here’s a quick table to show the differences between Sarawak laksa, curry laksa and asam laksa.
Ingredients |
Sarawak laksa |
Curry laksa |
Asam laksa |
|---|---|---|---|
Broth |
Coconut and tamarind based, has shrimp paste added |
Coconut based, has curry paste added |
Tamarind based, has fish paste added |
Vegetables |
Usually comes with beansprouts |
Usually comes with beanprouts and fried beancurd puffs |
Usually comes with julienne cucumbers, onions and pineapple |
Meat |
Boiled prawns/shrimps, shredded chicken |
Sliced fish cakes, fish and/or chicken slices |
Mackerel flakes |
Egg |
Strips of egg omelette |
Hard boiled egg |
None |
As for how to cook it, you’ll be able to find many online videos but I’ve picked out this simple one that quickly shows you how it is prepared! It’s drool time!
And here are a couple of sites that I’ve found with full recipes and instructions if you ever fancy giving it a go:
- https://www.huangkitchen.com/traditional-sarawak-laksa/
- https://www.curiouscuisiniere.com/sarawak-laksa/
Note: I have zero affiliations to the websites shown. I’m just doing a search online and selecting the best that I could find.
My favourite Sarawak laksa shop
Don’t judge me but Sarawak laksa is not my favourite dish! So, I don’t often order it when I’m out for food! I have tried a few from different places and also taking in family feedback, I believe that this place offers the most compelling experience!
Choon Hui Cafe (Maps)
You can read my review here. It only scored 3/5 stars but I have quite a stringent rating scheme going on and it gets penalised for lack of accessibility.
A brush with Hollywood
Sarawak laksa came to the forefront when the late American chef, Anthony Bourdain (Wikipedia) visited Sarawak for his travel shows. He visited Choon Hui cafe twice, once in 2005 for Travel Channel’s No Reservation and in 2015 for CNN’s Parts Unknown, and he called Sarawak laksa the ‘breakfast of the Gods’.
That spotlight was definitely well deserved and I’m so glad to see it get the attention on the global gastronomic stage. Certainly, you will see/hear of many tourists coming to Sarawak wanting to give the laksa a try!
According to CNN’s World’s 50 Best Food, sadly we only have the asam laksa making a show. You can check out the editor’s choice (#7) as well as the reader’s choice (#26).
For my Southeast Asian Local Guides family, I’m sure you have your own version of laksa! I’ll be super keen to find out more about them and I’m sure we can debate forever on which is the best! Do share your laksa in the comments below and let’s help educate the world on this amazing dish! By the way, I think we need to visit each other and try them all and then we can decide on the best!
Thanks to everyone for checking out this post and I hope that you’ve enjoyed learning and reading about Sarawak laksa. You can check out the other posts in #ThePurrfectCity series:
.
The Wikipedia page has a long list of different Indonesian laksa, but it also says that soto is a more popular Indonesian dish than laksa! Is that true?
.
.
Well, if you ever fancy a trip to sweat paradise (I know you weird folks love the heat and sun!), come and swing by to Malaysia! Happy to host you folks and show you around! 
. True Bukit Bintag is very touristic, especially in the night and a local colleague brought me there one evening for the night life and all the enormous amount of bars but I indeed remember lot of foreigners like me too.
