Curry Laksa
Laksa. An unusual name for a surprisingly simple dish. It is essentially a noodle soup — but not as you know it. The Malaysian mix of chili and coconut milk make it fresh, warming and comforting while really filling you up. The fact you can throw in just about any veggies, seafood or meat you like make it super versatile, and great for using up whatever you have in the fridge. In fact, there really are no rules here — you can make it as spicy as you like. And you can throw it together entirely from shop-bought pastes or customise with your own mix of ingredients if you start from scratch. A great tasty-but-hasty after work supper, it is equally easy to jazz up for a dinner party with a few fancy toppings.
I’ve used a shop bought laksa paste and added a few extra ingredients — partly to increase the aromatic, spicy flavours and partly because I couldn’t find quite the right paste for laksa. If you’d like to make yours from scratch, I recommend trying out Jamie Oliver’s recipe here. Alternatively, if you’d rather keep it simple, you can omit the ingredients I’ve listed as 'Aromatics' below.
Serves 2–4
Ingredients:
Aromatics:
1 chili [green or red — whichever you prefer]
2 cm piece of fresh ginger
1 garlic clove
2 spring onions OR 1 shallot OR a quarter of an onion
2–3 kaffir lime leaves
1 stick of lemongrass
1 lime
Half a bunch of coriander
Soup:
Laksa paste — bigger supermarkets will stock this but if you can’t find it, a coconut-based curry sauce will do [if so, you probably won’t need to add as much water and can omit the coconut milk]
1 can of coconut milk [if you can’t find any, some milk will do]
Any veggies you like: I tend to use mushrooms, baby corn [halved, length-ways] and green beans or sugar snap peas. Asparagus, chopped aubergine, pepper [cut in to strips] and leafy greens also work well
If you’d like to go for a non-veggie laksa, some prawns or cooked chicken are a great addition
Noodles — again, whatever kind you like, from ramen to rice vermicelli, egg noodles or anything in between. Try to get fresh [soft] or ready-for-wok noodles as these need next-to-no cooking time
Start by prepping the aromatics. If you have a blender, throw in the coriander stalks, garlic, chili, and onions and blend to a paste. If not, chop these finely. Warm up a medium-to-large saucepan with a drop of oil. Once hot, add everything you’ve just chopped/blended and stir for a couple of minutes to release all the flavours.
Next, add your curry/laksa paste and stir for another couple of minutes, again to release and mix all of the flavours.
Now add the coconut milk or, if you’re not using this, use 450 ml of boiling water instead. The quantities of liquids stated here are just a guide, as it will depend on the paste you are using — so check the packet if in doubt. You're aiming for a thin, watery broth.
Throw in the kaffir lime leaves, ginger and lemongrass if you’re using these. No need to chop them — they will be fished out once they have worked their magic.
Put a lid on the pan and bring to the boil. Once bubbling, add the veggies [along with any cooked meat/raw prawns you’d like to add]. Once the soup is boiling again, turn the heat down to low, keeping the lid on, and cook for 5–10 minutes - until the veg is tender. Once the time is up, don’t forget to fish out the ginger, lime leaves and lemongrass.
Meanwhile, cook your noodles according to the pack instructions. I find it easiest to keep the noodles separate to the soup. If you have bought fresh/ready to wok noodles, you should be able to sit these in a bowl, pour over boiling water, cover with a plate and after 5 minutes, drain them and they will be ready to eat.
Now all that’s left is the assembly: place a portion of noodles in the bottom of each bowl, top with lashings of soup and plenty of veggies. If you didn’t use any coconut milk, you can add a dash of milk to each bowl [it’s important to do this once it’s in the bowl rather than the saucepan, so that it doesn’t curdle from the heat].
Finish off with a few of the coriander leaves [if you want to be extra fancy, add some finely sliced chili and spring onion too]. Serve with a half lime per person on the side, to be squeezed over to taste. That’s all there is to it — one hearty bowl of soupy, spicy goodness. Enjoy! And make sure you have some kitchen roll handy to mop up the inevitable spills and splashes - particularly if [like me] you're not a noodle pro!
Any leftover soup can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days, but it’s best to cook the noodles fresh each time.
I’ve used a shop bought laksa paste and added a few extra ingredients — partly to increase the aromatic, spicy flavours and partly because I couldn’t find quite the right paste for laksa. If you’d like to make yours from scratch, I recommend trying out Jamie Oliver’s recipe here. Alternatively, if you’d rather keep it simple, you can omit the ingredients I’ve listed as 'Aromatics' below.
Ingredients:
Aromatics:
1 chili [green or red — whichever you prefer]
2 cm piece of fresh ginger
1 garlic clove
2 spring onions OR 1 shallot OR a quarter of an onion
2–3 kaffir lime leaves
1 stick of lemongrass
1 lime
Half a bunch of coriander
Soup:
Laksa paste — bigger supermarkets will stock this but if you can’t find it, a coconut-based curry sauce will do [if so, you probably won’t need to add as much water and can omit the coconut milk]
1 can of coconut milk [if you can’t find any, some milk will do]
Any veggies you like: I tend to use mushrooms, baby corn [halved, length-ways] and green beans or sugar snap peas. Asparagus, chopped aubergine, pepper [cut in to strips] and leafy greens also work well
If you’d like to go for a non-veggie laksa, some prawns or cooked chicken are a great addition
Noodles — again, whatever kind you like, from ramen to rice vermicelli, egg noodles or anything in between. Try to get fresh [soft] or ready-for-wok noodles as these need next-to-no cooking time
Start by prepping the aromatics. If you have a blender, throw in the coriander stalks, garlic, chili, and onions and blend to a paste. If not, chop these finely. Warm up a medium-to-large saucepan with a drop of oil. Once hot, add everything you’ve just chopped/blended and stir for a couple of minutes to release all the flavours.
Next, add your curry/laksa paste and stir for another couple of minutes, again to release and mix all of the flavours.
Now add the coconut milk or, if you’re not using this, use 450 ml of boiling water instead. The quantities of liquids stated here are just a guide, as it will depend on the paste you are using — so check the packet if in doubt. You're aiming for a thin, watery broth.
Throw in the kaffir lime leaves, ginger and lemongrass if you’re using these. No need to chop them — they will be fished out once they have worked their magic.
Put a lid on the pan and bring to the boil. Once bubbling, add the veggies [along with any cooked meat/raw prawns you’d like to add]. Once the soup is boiling again, turn the heat down to low, keeping the lid on, and cook for 5–10 minutes - until the veg is tender. Once the time is up, don’t forget to fish out the ginger, lime leaves and lemongrass.
Meanwhile, cook your noodles according to the pack instructions. I find it easiest to keep the noodles separate to the soup. If you have bought fresh/ready to wok noodles, you should be able to sit these in a bowl, pour over boiling water, cover with a plate and after 5 minutes, drain them and they will be ready to eat.
Now all that’s left is the assembly: place a portion of noodles in the bottom of each bowl, top with lashings of soup and plenty of veggies. If you didn’t use any coconut milk, you can add a dash of milk to each bowl [it’s important to do this once it’s in the bowl rather than the saucepan, so that it doesn’t curdle from the heat].
Finish off with a few of the coriander leaves [if you want to be extra fancy, add some finely sliced chili and spring onion too]. Serve with a half lime per person on the side, to be squeezed over to taste. That’s all there is to it — one hearty bowl of soupy, spicy goodness. Enjoy! And make sure you have some kitchen roll handy to mop up the inevitable spills and splashes - particularly if [like me] you're not a noodle pro!
Any leftover soup can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days, but it’s best to cook the noodles fresh each time.
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