Recipe: Fish Soup - Laksa Penang

Serves about 8

227 g (1/2 LB) thin noodles
681 g (1 1/2 LB) fish fillet, cut into large pieces
6 cups water
1 large onion, chopped
1 small hot pepper, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbs. shrimp paste
2 Tbs. tamarind paste
1 Tbs. fresh grated ginger
2 tsp. salt
4 Tbs. shredded cucumbers
4 Tbs. shredded lettuce
2 Tbs. chopped fresh coriander leaves
2 Tbs. finely chopped green onions

Boil noodles per instruction on pkg. and set aside.

Place fish and water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Cover and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes. Remove fish with a slotted spoon, then shred. Reserve water in the saucepan.

In the meantime, place onion, hot pepper, garlic, shrimp paste, tamarind paste, ginger and salt in blender and blend into paste. Add paste to the reserved fish water in the saucepan. Bring to boil, then cover and cook over medium heat for 8 minutes.

Drain noodles and place in a large bowl. Pour the saucepan contents over the noodles. Sprinkle with the remaining ingredients and serve immediately.

Note: Twice the amount of lemon or tomato paste may be substituted for the tamarind.

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Published on 10/24/02