Laksa

I attempted to cook Singapore laksa two wks ago after reading an entry on xiaxue's blog on how she had successfully cooked laksa for herself and her bf. Suddenly, I felt ashamed that I have not cooked any laksa in my entire life even though I teach Home Economics. So embarrassing right?

Anyway, like I mentioned, I am a shortcut kinda person. So I bought a pack of ready-made sauce at NTUC - who has the time to pound and fry all the spices unless you are cooking for a party or selling laksa for a living right? However, I didn't like the idea of using packet coconut cream so I was delighted to find vacuum-packed fresh grated coconut at NTUC too. (I didn't know of any shop nearby my place that would grate coconut on the spot like in the past.) I even bought a bunch of laksa leaves just to add a dash of authencity. Heheh.

Gosh...I don't even remember the last time I squeezed milk out of grated coconut - like when I was in primary school? Fresh grated coconut is so rich, fragrant and chewy. When I was young, I would never fail to pinch some to eat while squeezing the milk. Ying Ying was looking on curiously, so I let her try some too. She loved it and kept asking for more. She ate like 1 tbsp in total. Unfortunately, her stomach disagreed with it cos she LS the day after. :(

In the end, the whole thing turned out fine... except for the gravy!!! The instructions indicated "Add 4 bowls of water", which I did. But the thing is, I added 4 BIG bowls of water so the whole pot of gravy turned out soooooo diluted machiam soup like that. Why don't they just state "Add ___ ml of water"?!? After all, bowls come in various sizes what!! It was quite a letdown cos the rest of the ingredients were so fresh and well-prepared. :(

Husband commented the gravy was a pity. So I offered to cook again since there was quite a lot of laksa leaves left. But after eating two big bowls, he burped and declared he wont be eating laksa again for a long time. :/

Anyway, it was a learning experience for me. I am confident the laksa I cook the next time will definitely be a success!