Penang Assam Laksa

This dish is one that I made about a month ago and had forgotten to write about... perhaps I was too disappointed and was trying to erase it out of my memory! The disappointment... well, let's just say, the sourness was there but the spiciness was off. Felt let down as this dish is another staple dish of Malaysia. Rain or shine, sunny or cloudy, one will still find contented smiles on faces of those who have just completely consumed their bowl of Penang Assam Laksa!

I guess I'll just plan on buying assam laksa as opposed to making them myself :)

Penang Assam Laksa
1 lb of Mackerel fish
8 cups of water
5 pieces of assam keping
1 pack of fresh laksa noodles

Spice paste:
12 dried red chillies, seeded
5 fresh red chillies, seeded
8 small shallots
2 tsp of belacan
1 stalk of lemon grass

Tamarind juice:
Tamarind, about the size of a ping pong ball
1/2 cup of water, repeat 3 - 4 times

Seasonings:
1 tsp of salt
2 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of fish sauce

Garnishing:1 cucumber, julienned
1 bunch of mint leaves
1 bunch of Vietnamese mint leaves
1 bunga kantan/ginger bud, cut into small pieces
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 lettuce, thinly cut
1 red chili, cut into small slices
1 small pineapple, cut into short strips

Condiment:
Heh Ko/Prawn Paste

Clean the fish, remove scales and gut. In a pot, bring 8 cups of water to boil. Add in the fish and boil for about 10 minutes. Transfer the cooked fish out into a bowl and let cool. Strain the fish stock, then add in the peeled tamarind, and the Vietnamese mint leaves and continue to boil in low heat.
Wet your hands constantly with a bowl of water, pick the flesh out of all the fish and discard the bones. Break the fish meat into tiny pieces and put the fish back into the stock, cover the lid, and lower the heat.
Using a mini food processor, grind the spice paste until fine. Heat up a wok and saute the spice paste with cooking oil for about 6 - 8 minutes or until fragrant and spicy. Transfer the spice paste into the boiling stock.
Extract the tamarind juice and add it into the stock. Strain the tamarind juice and keep the seed. Repeat 3 - 4 times with 1/2 cup of water each time to make sure you extract all the essence from the tamarind. Continue to taste your Assam Laksa stock to make sure it's sour and to your liking. For seasoning, add sugar, salt, and fish sauce.
Prepare the laksa noodles by following the packaging instructions. In a serving bowl, add in the laksa noodles and garnish all vegetables on top. Pour the Assam Laksa soup into the bowl and serve immediately with a spoonful of Heh Ko/prawn paste.