February 28th 2008
KLANG POPIAH and ASAM LAKSA - Eng Ann Hawker Center
A popiah “skin” is a thin paper-like crepe or pancake made from wheat flour (rice flour is sometimes used) which is covered with a sweet sauce, often hoisin sauce, and optionally with hot chilli sauce before it is filled. The filling is mainly finely grated and steamed or stir-fried jicama (known locally as bangkuang), which has been cooked with a combination of other ingredients such as bean sprouts, French beans, and lettuce leaves, depending on the individual vendor, along with grated carrots, slices of Chinese sausage, thinly sliced fried tofu, chopped peanuts or peanut powder and shredded omelette. Some hawkers, especially in non-halal settings, will add fried pork lard. As a fresh spring roll, the popiah skin itself is not fried.
In Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan there are “popiah parties,” where the ingredients are laid out and guests make their own popiah with proportions of ingredients to their own personal liking.
Taman Eng Ann, situated near Taman Berkley, Klang(see map). The food there is good with endless of customer picking their likings. There’s a very famous Klang Popiah inside the hawker center which sell the Leng Chi Kang too. Previously, this popiah seller was selling his popiah at the spot where the hawker center was built now.
I have a special way of eating this Popiah. I like to add lemon and salt onto my popiah. A friend of mine from Cyprus taught me to put lemon juice and salt on basically everything he eats. This is no ordinary salt, according to my Cyprus friend, it’s a special salt from Cyprus call mediterranean salt.
I used to frequent this Eng Ann Hawker Center not only for it’s famous popiah but also for its famous asam laksa . The rich flavour of this asam laksa is best eaten with a roll of popiah thrown into the asam laksa. I like to throw in a piece of popiah into my asam laksa, call me wierd but i really like the taste.
Assam laksa is a sour fish-based soup. Asam (or asam jawa) is the Malay word for tamarind, which is commonly used to give the stock its sour flavor. It is also common to use “asam keping” also known as “asam gelugor”, dried slices of tamarind fruit, for added sourness. Modern Malay spelling is asam, though the spelling assam is still frequently used.
The main ingredients for assam laksa include shredded fish, normally kembung fish or mackerel, and finely sliced vegetables including cucumber, onions, red chillis, pineapple, lettuce, common mint, “daun kesum” (Vietnamese mint or laksa mint) and pink bunga kantan (ginger buds). Assam laksa is normally served with either thick rice noodles or thin rice noodles (vermicelli). And topped off with “petis udang” or “hae ko”, a thick sweet prawn paste.
Penang laksa (Malay: Laksa Pulau Pinang), also known as assam laksa from the Malay for tamarind, comes from the Malaysian island of Penang. It is made with mackerel (ikan kembung) soup and its main distinguishing feature is the assam or tamarind which gives the soup a sour taste. The fish is poached and then flaked. Other ingredients that give Penang laksa its distinctive flavour include lemongrass, galangal (lengkuas) and chilli. Typical garnishes include mint, pineapple slices, thinly sliced onion, hε-ko, a thick sweet prawn paste and use of torch ginger flower. This, and not ‘curry mee’ is the usual ‘laksa’ one gets in PenangKlang Video Clip