Laksa
Laksa rests on one moment that cannot be rushed: the paste must be fried until the oil splits out of it and pools red at the edge of the pan. Until then the spices taste raw and harsh; after it they turn round and deep. It usually takes 8–10 minutes, and it is the whole secret of this soup.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Laksa paste 15 min
- Frying the paste 10 min
- Coconut broth 15 min
- Toppings 10 min
- Building the bowls 5 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneBlend the paste
Slice the lemongrass thinly across the grain — otherwise it leaves tough threads in the finished soup. Blitz it with the shallots, garlic, ginger, chillies, turmeric, coriander stalks, peanuts and 2 tablespoons of the oil to a smooth paste. Keep the rest of the oil for frying.
Ingredients: 5 pcs shallots · 4 cloves garlic · 2 pcs lemongrass · 30 g ginger · 3 pcs red chillies · 1 tsp turmeric · ½ bunch coriander · 40 g peanuts · 60 ml oil
Smooth, with no lumps or lemongrass fibres.Fry the paste until the oil splits
Heat the remaining oil in a wok or wide pan and fry the paste over medium heat for 8–10 minutes, stirring. Wait until it darkens and clear red oil gathers at the edges. That is the only signal the spices are cooked. Cut this short and the soup keeps a raw, oniony edge.
Ingredients: 5 pcs shallots · 4 cloves garlic · 2 pcs lemongrass · 30 g ginger · 3 pcs red chillies · 1 tsp turmeric · ½ bunch coriander · 40 g peanuts · 60 ml oil
Oil pooling at the sides — only now add the milk.Add the thick part of the coconut milk
Spoon the thick coconut cream off the top of the unshaken tin and fry it into the paste for 5 minutes, until it thickens and turns glossy. Fried in the coconut fat, the paste releases more aroma, which then carries through the whole soup.
Ingredients: 800 ml coconut milk · 600 ml chicken stock · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 pcs lime
The cream first, the rest of the liquid after.Pour in the rest of the milk and the stock
Add the remaining coconut milk and the stock, season with fish sauce and sugar, and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. Do not let it boil hard — coconut milk at a rolling boil splits into fat on top and thin liquid underneath.
Ingredients: 800 ml coconut milk · 600 ml chicken stock · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 1 tbsp sugar · 1 pcs lime
Poach the chicken and prawns in the broth
Add the sliced chicken and cook for 6 minutes, then the prawns for 2 minutes (8 minutes in all), until pink and curled into a C. Curled into a full circle means they are already overcooked. Lift both out and set aside.
Ingredients: 250 g rice noodles · 300 g prawns · 250 g chicken breast · 2 pcs eggs · 150 g bean sprouts · ¼ bunch mint
Cook the noodles separately
Cook the rice noodles in a separate pan according to the packet and rinse them under cold water. Cooked in the soup they shed starch that clouds and thickens the broth, and they quickly overcook. Meanwhile boil the eggs (7 minutes from boiling), cool them in cold water, peel and halve.
Ingredients: 250 g rice noodles · 300 g prawns · 250 g chicken breast · 2 pcs eggs · 150 g bean sprouts · ¼ bunch mint
Build the bowls and finish with lime
Noodles at the bottom, then chicken, prawns, half an egg and sprouts, and ladle the hot broth over. Cut the lime into wedges and squeeze it in the bowl, never in the pot — boiled juice loses its fresh aroma. Scatter with coriander and mint leaves.
Ingredients: 250 g rice noodles · 300 g prawns · 250 g chicken breast · 2 pcs eggs · 150 g bean sprouts · ¼ bunch mint
Noodles under, broth over, lime at the very end.
Before you start
Paste in advance
Double the paste and freeze half in an ice cube tray or flat in a bag. With the paste ready, coconut milk and stock, laksa is on the table in half an hour on any weeknight.
Vegetarian version
Swap the fish sauce for soy sauce with a teaspoon of miso, and the meat for fried tofu and mushrooms. Nothing else changes — the paste carries the flavour either way.
Heat level
Deseeded chillies give colour and gentle warmth. Control the heat separately with sambal on the table — it is far easier to add it in the bowl than to rescue an over-spiced pot.
