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Sunday, January 5, 2020

Sarawak Laksa Paste




Sarawak Laksa is a Sarawak gastronomic experience originated in Kuching after the World War II. 

A bowl of Sarawak Laksa is essentially rice vermicelli, shredded omelet, cooked prawns, and shredded chicken, with sambal and lime served on the side.

According to the local, it all began from a Chinese Teochew named Goh Lik Teck when he first selling a noodle dish along Kuching’s Carpenter Street in 1945.

A good Sarawak Laksa comes from a good laksa soup.  And the soup is a combination of sambal belacan, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, chilies, and a host of spices. 

  
In the 1960s, an entrepreneur Tan Yong Him produced a laksa paste under the swallow brand (cap layan-layang).  The first customers were the students of St. Joseph's Primary School in Kuching, whom would later bring their childhood food all around the world.
 

Tan Yong Him’s business is now managed by his third son, Tan Boon Kiat.



Barrett Tan, another of Tan Yong Him’s son, came out with his own label of Sarawak Laksa : Barrett’s using his father’s recipe.  Barretts’s laksa comes with a bantam rooster as the brand.







Pasar Borneo @ Seri Kembangan 2019

 
Sagu flour is a starch extracted from the spongy centre of Metroxylon sagu plant.  Sagu flour is the sole ingredient in making Linut, a traditional staple of the Melanau.

 To make a good Sarawak Laksa, it is crucial to make a good laksa paste.  However, making a Sarawak Laksa paste simplified with the introduction of pre-packed laksa paste.  There are numerous brand of laksa paste in the market, but Swallow Brand is the most popular.  
Not everyone can fry !


Terung iban ( Solanum aethiopicum ) is native to Borneo.  It is often cooked with chili with anchovies or river fishes.
It has been processed into chips, jam, cakes, juices, ice cream,samba, etc.
 

Gula Apong is the sweetener made from nira of nipah palm ( Nypa fruticans ).  It is the key ingredient in making penyaram, solorot, cendol, etc