Malaysian Crab Laksa

This is my first attempt at making a Peranakan or Nonya  dish.  Peranakan cuisine combines Chinese,  Malay and other influences into a unique blend.  According to Wikipedia (so it must be true), Peranakans are descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Penang,  Malacca,Indonesia and Singapore, inter-marrying with local Malays.  Who knew?

I found the original recipe in "Best-Ever Recipes; Every Day Soup".  As usual, I made several changes to make it my own.  This was a lot of fun to make and Sharon and I were quite surprised at how good this soup taste.  I want to give a special thanks to Ming Chang who, from his home in Ohio, talked me through my shopping list at the Chinese Grocery.

1. Cook the angel hair in a large pan of boiling salted water for 4 minutes.  Transfer to a large colander or sieve and rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.
2. To make the spicy paste, place all the ingredients in a food processor or blender until a smooth paste is formed.
3. Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a soup pot; add the spicy paste and sauté stirring constantly for a few minutes to release all of the flavors.  Be careful not to let it burn.
4. Add the vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil.  Stir in the fish sauce and kale, and then simmer gently for 5 minutes.  Season with salt and cayenne to taste and add a squeeze of ½ a lime.
5. Add the crab meat and simmer until it is heated through.
6. Divide the noodles among your soup bowls and pour the soup.  Garnish with fresh coriander and serve. 

Ingredients 4 oz Angel Hair pasta 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil  4 ¼ cups low sodium low fat vegetable stock  1 2/3 cups coconut milk  2 tbsp Thai fish sauce  1 lb lump crab meat  2 handfuls fresh kale  1/2 a lime Salt and cayenne pepper to taste  Fresh coriander sprigs and leaves, chopped to garnish

Spicy Paste  2 Lemon grass stalks, finely chopped 1 Jalapeno pepper seeded and chopped 1” piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and sliced ½ tsp shrimp paste 2 garlic cloves, chopped ¼ tsp turmeric ¼ tsp cayenne pepper ½ tbsp chopped apricot ½ tsp chopped dates ½ tbsp. chopped prunes ½ tbsp. lemon juice