Improvements on Asian Home Gourmet's Laksa Recipe

If you're ever fortunate enough to have real Singapore laksa, you will understand why I soil my shorts with delight whenever someone mentions it. It's the most delicious curry noodle soup I have ever had. It's so damn good that my dad would constantly eat it even after he developed an allergy to coconut milk (which gave him a bout of the shits). Asian Home Gourmet makes a hermetically-sealed spice-paste packet available in very select Asian markets (while I've seen Asian Home Gourmet products at 99 Ranch Market, I haven't found any places in the US that carry the laksa paste. But they are available in Singapore... of course). If you aren't fortunate enough to know anyone in Singapore who's willing to send some in the mail to you, surprisingly enough, the packets are also available on Amazon.com (of all places). I guess you really can buy anything from Amazon these days.

Ingredients:

1 pkg Asian Home Gourmet Singapore Laksa

1 large boneless skinless chicken breast

4-6 medium to large raw shrimp (shells on)

2 small chicken bouillon cubes (or 1 3/4 cup chicken broth)

1 can coconut milk

1 tbsp vegetable oil

medium-thickness dry Chinese egg noodles (do not substitute spaghetti or I will be forced to come over there and kick your ass)

fresh cilantro

fresh mung bean sprouts (remove tails if they look a little mangy)

First things first - the recipe on the back of the package is *mostly* right, but I've got a few major improvements built into this one, so when in doubt, ignore the recipe on the back of the package and follow my instructions.

In a small pot, put the chicken breast in some water and boil it until it's all cooked through. Partway through that process somewhere, you will want to throw in the shrimp (don't overcook them or they'll turn into little pink shrimp-flavored erasers). While you are boiling the chicken breast and shrimp, get a larger pot and heat the vegetable oil. Open the spice packet and squish out every last drop into the pan (don't waste any of it - that would be sacrilege). Fry the spices until they are fragrant (30 seconds to a minute). Once the chicken and shrimp are cooked, pour out 2 cups of the boiling water/stock into a separate bowl and add two chicken bouillon cubes to it. Stir vigorously until you have 2 cups of an extra-rich chicken broth. Next, open the can of coconut milk, whip it up a bit so the coconut fat is mixed into the milk and pour it into the pot with the fried spices and stir (use a spatula to get every last drop out of the can - more coconut milk is better than less). Pour the extra rich stock into the pot with the coconut milk and stir. Cover, bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down really low to simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, take the chicken and shrimp out of the small pot and set aside. Add a little more hot water to the small pot if necessary, then bring the whole thing to a boil and cook the dry Chinese egg noodles. While both the coconut soup and the noodles are cooking, take the chicken breast and shred it onto a plate, and place the cooked shrimp next to it. Wash the cilantro, tear it up, and add it to the plate of shredded chicken breast and shrimp. Place mung bean sprouts in a colander in the sink. When the Chinese egg noodles are done, go over to the sink and pour the hot water from the noodles all over the mung bean sprouts to quickly blanch them. Add the noodles and the blanched mung beans to the plate with the chicken, shrimp, and cilantro. Have your guests prepare their own bowls of Laksa from this plate, by adding a bit of each ingredient, then pouring on the hot coconut soup over it all. One packet yields about 2 huge servings (or, you know, one serving if you're me and could eat this stuff for every meal). Now you, too, can experience the sinfully amazing delicacy that is Singapore Laksa.