Penang asam laksa recipe | Gourmet Traveller recipe

Ingredients

• 1 whole white fish (about 1.5kg) such as bream, flathead, snapper or bream, gutted, scaled, cleaned
• 3-4 sprigs Vietnamese mint
• 3-4 slices galangal
• 150 gm tamarind pulp, soaked in 250ml warm water for 30 minutes, strained through a fine sieve (solids discarded)
• 3 slices asam gelugor (optional; see note)
• 1 tbsp white sugar, or to taste
• 400 gm dried laksa rice noodles, soaked in water until soft, drained
• ½ pineapple, thinly sliced
• 2 Lebanese cucumbers, seeds removed, thinly sliced
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 5 iceberg lettuce leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 cup (loosely packed) mint
• ¾ cup (loosely packed) Vietnamese mint
• 1 torch ginger flower, thinly sliced (optional; see note)
• 2-3 small red chillies, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp hae ko, diluted in hot water to drizzling consistency (optional; see note)
• Spice paste
• 35 gm fresh turmeric or 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 20 gm galangal, coarsely chopped
• 5 golden shallots, thinly sliced
• 4 small dried red chillies, soaked in hot water and squeezed dry
• 4 small fresh red chillies, chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, sliced
• 1 tsp belacan (see note)