Sarawak Laksa Review - Cap Burung Bayan

Bought a packet of Cap Burung Bayan Sarawak Laksa Paste yesterday and couldn't wait to try it out! I bought the 1kg packet and this is what it looks like.

Cap Burung Bayan Sarawak Laksa Paste

Sarawak Laksa is one of Kuching's most famous dish aside from kolo mee and the likes.

Its rich & flavorful broth with a base of belachan paste (shrimp paste), garlic, lemon grass and coconut milk will awaken your taste buds to a whole new world of flavors!

Sarawak Laksa Paste is heavily guarded recipe which contains more than 20 types of spices & herbs which makes the broth to have such a distinctive taste.

NOW lets get started !

The ingredients you need for the Laksa broth are.....

500g chicken breast with bone

1kg prawns with shells300g beansprout

3 medium sized eggs

600g Laksa Paste

2 pkts of coconut milk or evaporated milk (400ml)

600g rice vermicelli (1½ packet)

8g Coriander leaves

5 medium-sized limes

4 litres of water

First step is to boil the water and place chicken meat to let it cook to obtain the chicken essence.

Put the cooked chicken aside and place the prawns into the same boiling water until cooked. 

Remove prawns from boiling water and then pour in the Sarawak Laksa paste to let simmer for
30 - 45 minutes

1kg of Sarawak Laksa Paste can serve up to 12-14 people.

While waiting for the Sarawak Laksa broth to simmer, take that time to shred the chicken breast and de-shell the prawns. You can put the prawn shells back into the Sarawak broth to simmer for more flavorful broth. (Personally I like to keep the shells intact for when I have my Laksa later =D)

The next step is to prepare the egg strip, beansprout & rice vermicelli.

For the egg strips:

Scramble eggs into a bowl and whisk. Heat up pan and fry a thin layer of egg. Repeat steps until you finish frying the egg mixture. Let cool for awhile the cut the layers of egg into thin strips.

For beansprout & rice vermicelli:

Clean the beansprout while boiling a pot of water. Blanch the beansprout in the boiling water for 2 minutes and remove from hot water. Avoid overcooking the beansprout so that it still has a crunch to it.

Repeat the same step for rice vermicelli.

Ingredients used for Sarawak Laksa

Usually when you order Sarawak Laksa they will serve it with a side of lime and belachan paste.

To make the belachan paste, you will need....

12g dry chilies(8 med-size)
60g shallot (4 bulbs)
25g garlic (7 cloves)
50g of Belachan paste

Wash all the ingredients above cleanly and blend. You can add water (around 50ml) to facilitate the blending. After thoroughly blended, stir-fry the mixture until it becomes a thick paste and the color turns dark.

Now let's get back to our delicious simmering Sarawak Laksa broth...!

Once the Sarawak Laksa broth is almost ready, remove excess oil on the surface by using an oil sieve and also remove the spice impurities from the broth to get a smooth textured soup.

Then, add coconut milk or evaporated milk and let simmer for another 10 minutes under low heat. Add salt or seasoning to taste.

Its time to serve!

Get a bowl and place a proper amount of rice vermicelli into the bowl (around one handful), top with shredded chicken meat, prawns, egg strips and beansprouts.

Pour the Sarawak Laksa broth on top and serve with a side of lime and belachan paste.

Lastly, garnish with chopped coriander leaves and voila!

Sarawak Laksa =)

Time to dig in!

Personally i would rate this Sarawak Laksa Paste an 8/10. A definite must buy when the craving hits fr some home made Sarawak Laksa!