Katong, in Singapore's east, is the old heartland of the Peranakans, descendants of Chinese traders who married into the Malay world and created a cuisine of their own. Its laksa is the most famous bowl in the city: a coconut broth the color of a sunset, thick with spice and dried shrimp. The Katong habit is to cut the noodles short, so the whole bowl can be eaten with a spoon, chopsticks having been politely retired.

The broth tastes like it took all day, and in honesty it takes about an hour. Make it before the race, keep it warm, and let everyone assemble their own bowl at the halfway mark.

Shrimp stock

Ingredients

• shells and heads from the topping shrimp
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) neutral oil
• 5 cups (1.2 liters) water

The rempah and broth

Ingredients

• 10 large dried red chilies
• 2 fresh long red chilies
• 8 shallots
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) galangal
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) fresh turmeric
• 6 candlenuts
• 1 teaspoon belacan
• 1/3 cup (40 g) dried shrimp
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) neutral oil
• 2 cans (27 fl oz / 800 ml total) full fat coconut milk
• 1 small handful laksa leaves
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Noodles and toppings

Ingredients

• 1 lb (450 g) shrimp, shell on
• 4 large eggs
• 1 lb (450 g) fresh thick rice vermicelli
• 2 cups (100 g) bean sprouts
• 4 oz (115 g) fish cake
• sambal or chili paste

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