Nora Haron's Laksa
Because once you dig a spoon in, you can’t stop until the last drop is gone. Then, all that’s left is to dream about enjoying it again.
SERVES 6
When Chef Nora Haron hosted laksa pop-ups, bowls of her iconic version of the Singaporean noodle soup, imbued with spice, funk, and plenty of complexity, would sell out in a heartbeat. Because once you dig a spoon in, you can’t stop until the last drop is gone. Then, all that’s left is to dream about enjoying it again. Belacan is extremely pungent when toasted, so be sure to open your kitchen window and turn on your exhaust vent.
One of those rare chefs who is equally accomplished in both sweet and savory, Nora Haron has cooked many things for many restaurants in her career. Now, she couldn’t be more thrilled to share the food closest to her heart and soul.
At the casual Bijan, the Singapore-born Haron serves unique creations, including croissants rippled green with matcha, airy chiffon cake fragrant with pandan, and Singaporean chicken rice, in which traditionally poached chicken gets flash-fried for unexpected crunch. “My food is not fusion,” says Haron. “It’s my interpretation, and it’s authentic to me.”
Haron grew up with a single mom, a caterer who could cook or bake anything, and who wanted her daughter to be a doctor or lawyer. Haron chose to work for a high-fashion shoe designer in Italy instead. But after a while, cooking beckoned, bringing her to the Bay Area to study at the San Francisco Baking Institute before becoming head kitchen manager for Blue Bottle Coffee.
Now, folks are drawn to her Oakland spot— named for the Malay word for “sesame seed,’’ one of her favorite ingredients—by her very personalized cooking. “When people think of Asian food, they think Chinese, Thai, and Japanese,” she says. “I want them to think of Singaporean now, too.”
She’s given them a potent reason to do so.
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