Lakscious
Being a Sarawakian residing in the United Kingdom for a decade, I always yearn for the flavors and scents of my birthplace in Borneo. The vibrant markets bustling with fresh seafood and colorful spices, the sounds of the jungle, and the warm, moist air that always enveloped me are the things I miss.
During the global pandemic, I had a lot of free time working from my home office. As I sat there, I realized that I never learned how to make the traditional Sarawak Laksa, a dish that I grew up eating. This realisation impacted me, and I developed an obsession with mastering the art of making it. Furthermore, my wife loves this dish every time we visit my family in Sarawak, which is another personal motivation for me.
I scoured the internet for any available online resources, and I came across a social media post about an older generation craftswoman who still knows how to make the traditional recipe in Borneo. I contacted her and requested her to teach me some of the traditional spices and ingredients I would need to make the paste. She was delighted to help, as passing on this skill to the next generation was important to her, and soon I had a box filled with everything I needed.
With the ingredients in my possession, I began to work on the Sarawak laksa paste. I spent days preparing the ingredients, hours grinding and pounding the spices in a mortar and pestle, striving for the perfect texture and consistency, and adjusting the flavors until it tasted ideal.
As I worked on the paste, my thoughts frequently wandered back to my childhood in Sarawak. I reminisced about the hot, lazy mornings spent slurping bowls of laksa at local Kopitiam ("breakfast" coffee shops), with luscious savoury complex broth, tender strands of chicken, and shrimp. The memories were both sweet and bitter, but they motivated me to keep going.
Finally, after several months of trial and error, I produced a batch of laksa paste that tasted exactly like the authentic dish. I sent the paste to my Sifu (master of the craft) in Borneo, and she gave me her seal of approval. As I tasted the final product, I felt a surge of pride and joy. I was able to bring a little bit of Sarawak into my humble kitchen in the United Kingdom.
As I savored the Sarawak laksa, I realized that even though I was far from home, I still had a connection to my heritage and family. The pandemic physically separated me from my loved ones, but it provided me with an opportunity to learn something new and rediscover the flavors of my childhood. For that, I was grateful.
在英国的第10年，身为砂拉越人的我，经常会感到思乡之情，想念家乡婆罗洲的风味美食和之独特的香料香气、我想念充满新鲜海鲜和五颜六色香料的热闹市场、热带雨林丛林的声音以及时常环绕着我的温暖潮湿的空气。
2020年的全球大流行病封锁期间，我因在家办公而有很多空闲时间。当我坐在家里的小办公室里上班偷闲时，我意识到我从来没有学过如何制作传统的砂拉越叻沙，这是我从小就吃惯了的一道街头小吃。这个意识让我感到沉重，我变得着迷于掌握制作叻沙的技艺。此外，每次我们去砂拉越探亲，我的妻子都会喜欢这道小吃，这也是我个人的动力之一。
于是我在互联网上搜寻任何可以找到的资源，然后看到了一个关于一位在婆罗洲老一代的小吃匠人社交媒体帖子，她仍然知道如何制作传统的叻沙食谱。我联系了她，并请求她教我制作传统砂拉越叻沙所需的香料和原料。她非常乐意帮助，因为传承这项技艺对她来说很重要，很快我就收集齐了第一盒装满我所需一切的材料。
手头有了原料，我开始制作叻沙酱。我花了数日准备原料，数小时在研钵中磨碎和捣打香料，努力追求达到完美的质地和一致性，调整口味，直到它尝起来刚刚好。
当我在制作叻沙酱时，我的思绪经常回到我在砂拉越童年时光。我记得在咖啡店（砂拉越当地的早餐店）里，慵懒炎热的早晨吃着叻沙、那浓郁香料醇厚的汤底和嫩滑的鸡肉和虾仁。这些回忆是苦乐参半的，但它们给了我继续前进的动力。
终于，在数月的试验和错误之后，我成功制作出一批口味与正宗沙拉也叻沙媲美的叻沙酱。我将酱油寄给了我在婆罗洲的师傅，并获得了她的认可。当我品尝着成品时，我感到一股自豪和喜悦涌上心头。我已经能够将一点砂拉越的味道带进我在英国的小厨房，我意识到即使我远离家乡，我仍然传承了一部分砂拉越人的传统文化。这点让我感觉欣慰。