Laksa Kelantan

Laksa Kelantan (Kelate in Kelantanese Malay pronunciation)

Most people have heard of laksa like Singapore laksa. There are so many variety of laksa in Southeast Asia. I believe what makes laksa a laksa is the fish based gravy, like the Kanom Jeen of Thailand and Penang laksa with tamarind.

Kelantanese laksa is a dish I grew up with. Rice-based spaghetti with lots of raw vegetables like snake beans, bean sprout, cucumber, daun kesom (Vietnamese coriander) and torch ginger, drowned in fish and coconut gravy. I love the taste of chopped raw vegetable but it is an acquired taste for those who are not used to it, especially when it is served at room temperature.

This is a proper home-cook version, with chopped torch ginger (the red stuff) and lemon grass. The gravy is made from fish meat which is boiled, pureed, and later mixed with coconut milk. My friend serves both laksa (spaghetti-liked rice noodles) and laksam (rolled up rice sheets).

吉蘭丹食物的特色是香草和蔬菜。我們喜歡生吃蔬菜。Laksa的配料是黃瓜,豆芽,長豆,叻沙葉(Daun Kesum),薑花和檸檬香茅。湯底用鯖魚肉、黑胡椒等各種香料熬煮,最後加入椰漿,因為沒加上紅辣椒或薑黃,因此呈現奶白色,且較為濃稠。米粉條有兩種:一種是粗的圓條,另一種叫Laksam “叻參”類似腸粉,是一種將米漿倒入盤上蒸熟,再捲成腸狀,吃時再切成塊狀麵條。

Store-bought version, the gravy is kept separated.
Lots of raw vegetables like snake beans, bean sprout, cucumber, daun kesom (Vietnamese coriander) and torch ginger.
Laksam (left) and Laksa (right)
The vegetables (anti-clockwise from top right: snake beans, beansprout, cucumber, daun kesom, torch ginger and lemon grass.