Directions

1) Cut the belacan into small pieces and lay them out on a baking tray. Slide the tray under a hot broiler. Shake the pan every so often to rotate the pieces. Toast until the belacan becomes very fragrant, is darker in color, and when pressed down with the back of a spoon, is softer and more powder like, rather than tacky and paste like. Remove from broiler and transfer the pieces to a bowl.
2) With the back of a spoon, press the pieces and mash down to powder the ingredients. If you have a mortar and pestle, you can pound the belacan in the mortar to achieve this as well. Reserve.
3) Scale and wash the sardines. Filet them, reserving both the bones and the filets and keeping the skins intact with the filets. Place both on a plate lined with a paper towel and hold in the fridge until ready to add them to the broth in a few minutes.
4) Make the broth: In a large saucepan or stockpot, add the vegetable oil over medium heat.
5) Add the long red chili, lemongrass, shallot, garlic, galangal root, turmeric root and toasted belacan. Cook the vegetables until they begin to soften and become very aromatic. Do not allow them to brown.
6) Add half of the sardine filets and all the sardine bones and sweat with the vegetables for about 5 minutes.
7) Add both of the stocks to another pot and bring to a boil together.
8) Once, hot, add the stocks to the sardine pot and stir to incorporate. Add the tamarind pulp, the galangal flower, assam skins and dried chilies. Bring to a simmer and adjust the seasoning with sugar and salt and keep simmering for 30-45 minutes.
9) Strain the liquid through a mesh sieve, discarding the solids. Return the liquid to a saucepot and to the heat. Adjust the seasoning with salt and lime juice.
10) The broth should be sweet, salty, sour and deliciously fish funky.
11) While the broth is simmering, break the sardine filets up with a spoon, slightly mashing them into the broth. Remove the broth from the heat and hold, with a lid over the pot, on a burner, off of a flame and let it chill out while you finish the rest of the laksa prep.
12) Make the garnish: Remove the core from the pineapple and discard. Cut the pineapple into 1 inch long batons that are about ¼ inch thick.
13) Cut the ends off the cucumber and cut crosswise into 1½" cylinders. Julienne the cucumber.
14) Tear the Vietnamese mint leaves in half.
15) Tear the regular mint leaves in half.
16) Slice Thai chilies crosswise into thin rounds.
17) Thai Chili- Slice into thin rounds, crosswise.
18) In a pot with the vegetable oil heated 325 degrees, fry the ikan bilis until golden and crunchy. About 5 minutes, give or take.
19) Remaining sardine fillets—cut them up into 1½" pieces
20) Bring a pot of lightly salted boiling water to a boil.
21) Bring the sardine broth back to a boil, and then turn to a mellow simmer and drop in the cut up sardine fillets.
22) Add the noodles to the boiling water, for 2 minutes. Quickly strain the noodles from the water and add the noodles to the simmering broth. Leave the noodles in the simmering broth for about 3 minutes.
23) Check the broth, adjust the seasoning again if necessary. As the broth sits and cooks, the flavor will change. You might taste it once and the flavors appear strong, but after 10 minutes, you might taste it again and you find they are flat. Adjust the seasoning, if necessary. When you think the broth is spot on, transfer the noodles and broth to a large serving bowl.
24) Top the bowl with all the garnish ingredients and allow them to settle into the broth.