Laksa Johor

Ajinomoto Malaysia’s Laksa Johor uses spaghetti with a thick fish gravy. Its milk-based version combines ikan kembung with curry seasoning, chilli paste, laksa leaves and kerisik, and serves the noodles with fresh vegetables and sambal belacan.

The fish boils in water until cooked. Once cool, its bones and head are removed and the flesh is pounded. The strained fish cooking water returns to the pot with that meat, the recipe’s prepared seasonings, fish curry powder, chilli paste, low-fat milk, asam keping slices and laksa leaves.

When the gravy boils, kerisik goes in and the heat lowers to a simmer until the sauce thickens a little. The heat then switches off before the final pepper seasoning and sweetener are added.

Prepared spaghetti accompanies the gravy with thinly sliced onion and cucumber, bean sprouts, chopped long bean, lime and ready-made sambal belacan. These fresh sides give the thick gravy a contrasting texture and a sharp citrus finish.

The recipe’s serving set also includes a Bandung pudding and a slice of guava. For the pudding, low-fat milk heats with agar until it dissolves, then red colouring and sweetener are stirred in before the mixture sets in a mould and chills.