Difference Between Prawn Mee And Sarawak Laksa
The uncle at Wah Kee prawn noodles often boasts about his Ang Kah Red Leg Prawns and Lum Bueh Blue.
Difference between prawn mee and sarawak laksa. A bowl of pan mee coupled with a good bowl of ais kacang is possibly one of the best combinations Ive ever tasted in life. However they provide a host of other toppings like pig skin braised eggs Sio Bak roast pork fish cakes etc and a bowl with several of these items would easily come up to RM 15 Sgp 6. The Singapore hae mee is stir fried and has a lighter colour while the Penang variant is cooked in a prawn-based spicy broth.
Sarawak Laksas broth does not taste like curry at all the broth is made mainly with sambal belacan tamarind galangal lemon grass and around 20 other. I dont like heavy santan coconut milk laksa preparations - outside of asam laksa I believe our Sarawak laksa has the least santan in fact some places dont use santan at all - was surprised that Golden Arch in Kuching one of my favorite Sarawak Laksa places doesnt use any coconut milk - the broth is pure crushed prawns heads reduced with other spices but no santan. Fresh homemade Kolo Mee noodles are thin wiggly and springy whereas Wantan Noodles are straight.
In fact the prawns in Penang Prawn Mee are tiny. It has a base of Sambal belacan sour tamarind garlic galangal lemon grass and coconut milk topped with omelette strips chicken strips prawns fresh coriander and local lime. Apart from prawns and beansprouts the dish is also added with shredded omelette shredded chicken and chopped spring onions.
It contains no curry. The prawn mee at OS is arguably the most famous dishes in this kopitiam. Yes very biased cross arms Often people asked me whats the difference between that and say normal laksa which depending on your state of origin could be very different but in general most people would be referring to Curry Laksa.
In Sarawak the Chinese-style kolo mee is usually tossed with lard. The other difference between Penang vs Singapore prawn mee is that the emphasis is not so much on having big prawns. The soup is curry-based like duh with a dash of coconut milk and is often bright red in colour.
Basically Sarawak Kolo Mee is served dry. Prawn Mee at restaurant OS. With these fresh egg based noodles getting the right water temperature to cook them is crucial to ensure the fine strands do not clump together.
You can also opt for extra ingredients such as bigger prawns pork ribs and intestines. If you bite into the Kolo Mee noodles without any sauce the noodles taste slightly sweet. The Malay version that is known as mee sapi is topped with beef slices and uses kicap to flavour the noodles.
Instead Sarawak laksa has a base made of sambal belacan - a popular spicy Malaysian chili condiment that is made of shrimp paste garlic chillies and lime juice. Sarawak laksas broth is made from coconut milk sour tamarind and sambal belacan which gives the dish its sour-spicy taste. In this Prawn Files series I am showcasing the different types of prawns that are available in our local wet markets.
On the other hand Hokkien char mee which is more common in central Peninsular Malaysia and particularly the Klang Valley was originally developed in Kuala Lumpur. A piece of lime gives the laksa additional fragrance and sourness. Most East Malaysians would argue that it is the best laksa dish there is this author is no exception.
Despite its similar look to Sarawak laksa curry mee is a different dish altogether. Ingredients such as bean sprouts sliced fried tofu or other seafood are sometimes added. The fresh noodles are also different.
