Name: Assam laksa (home recipe)
Prep time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 600g mackerel (ikan kembung), whole; 1.5 litres water; 80g tamarind pulp soaked in 200ml warm water, strained; 4 pieces asam keping (dried tamarind slices); 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised; 1 torch ginger flower, halved; 6 dried chillies and 8 shallots, blended with 1 teaspoon belacan; 400g thick round rice noodles (laksa noodles); Half a cucumber, julienned; half a small pineapple, sliced; 1 red onion, sliced; a handful of mint leaves; Hae ko (black prawn paste), 1 teaspoon per bowl

History

Assam laksa is Penang's own answer to the coconut laksas of the south: a fish broth soured with tamarind (asam) and sharpened with torch ginger flower, a profile carried from Thai-influenced northern Malay kitchens into Chinese hawker stalls. Air Itam's stalls beside the wet market made the dish famous, and third-generation carts like Wan Dao Tou still build it on 50-year-old family recipes. The hae ko prawn paste stirred in at the table is the make-or-break step.

Common allergens: Fish, Shellfish

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 1 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

600g mackerel (ikan kembung), whole
1.5 litres water
80g tamarind pulp soaked in 200ml warm water, strained
4 pieces asam keping (dried tamarind slices)
2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
1 torch ginger flower, halved
6 dried chillies and 8 shallots, blended with 1 teaspoon belacan
400g thick round rice noodles (laksa noodles)
Half a cucumber, julienned; half a small pineapple, sliced
1 red onion, sliced; a handful of mint leaves
Hae ko (black prawn paste), 1 teaspoon per bowl

Method

Simmer the mackerel in the water for 15 minutes. Lift out, flake the flesh and discard bones; return heads and frames in a muslin bag.
Add the blended chilli paste, tamarind water, asam keping, lemongrass and torch ginger. Simmer 40 minutes, then remove the bag.
Return the flaked fish, season with salt and a little sugar, and keep the broth at a low simmer; it should be sour first, sweet last.
Blanch the noodles, divide between bowls, and ladle the broth generously over.
Top with cucumber, pineapple, onion and mint, and serve each bowl with a spoon of hae ko to stir in at the table.

Tip from the editors. Do not skip the torch ginger flower; without it the broth is just sour fish soup, and that floral sharpness is the whole signature.

Where to eat assam laksa

Assam laksa in Penang

Wan Dao Tou Assam Laksa ★ 4.5

Street food$pulau-tikusTue-Sun 11:00-17:00; closed MonCash only

Wan Dao Tou simmers its Bib Gourmand assam laksa from a 50-year-old family recipe on Jalan Gottlieb, Penang's benchmark bowl outside Air Itam.

Try: Assam laksa

Tip: Third-generation owners still make the broth daily; ask for extra hae ko prawn paste and stir it in gradually.

1 Jalan Gottlieb, 10350 George Town, Penang

Penang Road Famous Laksa ★ 4.4

Street food$george-townDaily 10:00-17:30, alongside the Keng Kwee Street cendol stallsCash only

Penang Road Famous Laksa ladles a sardine broth of unusual depth on Keng Kwee Street, the Bib Gourmand partner to the cendol queue next door.

Try: Assam laksa

Tip: Do the classic double: a bowl of laksa here, then a cendol from the stall a few steps away on the same lane.

5 Lebuh Keng Kwee, 10100 George Town, Penang

My Own Cafe ★ 4.3

Malaysian$george-townMon-Tue, Thu-Sun 10:00-16:00; closed Wed

My Own Cafe simmers a Bib Gourmand assam laksa steps from Khoo Kongsi on Cannon Street, the family-run counter Penang quietly keeps to itself.

Why locals love it: Cannon Street's tourists stream past to the clan jetties while locals slip in here for what many rate George Town's best assam laksa.

Tip: Order the crispy spring rolls alongside the laksa; the pairing is the house move and both are gone by late afternoon.

2 Lebuh Cannon, 10200 George Town, Penang