Kuching Breakfast Bowl · Coconut-Sambal Broth
Sarawak Laksa
Photo: Tonbi ko / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The late chef Anthony Bourdain called it his 'breakfast of the gods' after tasting it at a Kuching kopitiam — a single Instagram caption that turned a once locally-known dish into an international pilgrimage stop.
Rice vermicelli is submerged in a broth built from a dense spice paste of dried shrimp, galangal, and lemongrass simmered with coconut milk and tamarind, then topped with shredded chicken, prawns, beansprouts, and thin egg strips, finished with a squeeze of lime and a dollop of sambal belacan. Kuching kopitiams serve it as the city's default breakfast.
Why it's made this way: It's native to Kuching and considered one of the most distinct laksas in Malaysia, built on a spice base found nowhere else in the country and tied specifically to Sarawak's Borneo identity.
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