Laksa

July 5th, 2011 | Malaysian Recipes, Singaporean Recipes | 46 Comments

Laksa is a spice-laden noodle dish that is popular in Malaysia and Singapore; it’s a noodle dish that is quickly gaining popularity outside of Southeast Asia because of the scrumptious taste. To most people, especially the western media, laksa means curry laksa, a noodle dish in coconut milk and curry soup base. The truth is, there are many different  types of laksa but the two dominant ones are curry laksa (coconut milk based) and asam laksa (tamarind based). Laksa is an iconic street food served by street vendors (hawkers) throughout Malaysia, a dish that I grew up eating…

In my hometown Penang, laksa simply means Asam Laksa, a spicy and sour fish-based noodle dish. My Penang laksa recipes are here and here. In Penang, curry laksa is known as curry mee and my recipe is here.

Are you confused yet?

Anyway, today I am sharing a “friendly” laksa recipe with you. I have adapted this laksa recipe so the taste appeals more to the western palate. I also did a twist by adding evaporated milk to the laksa stock, so it’s half coconut milk and half evaporated milk. The end result is a creamier version of laksa without the dominant flavor of coconut milk. To further enhance the aroma of the broth, I threw in a few kaffir lime leaves. The laksa was so delicious that even my friend‘s 2 year old and 4 years old enjoyed it.

Laksa Recipe

Ingredients:

Stock

3 tablespoons oil
1/2 pack (120g) Malaysian instant curry paste (you can get it at AsianSupermarket365.com)
2 cups chicken stock (1 can)
2 cups water
2 stalks lemongrass (white part only, pounded)
5 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
10 tofu puffs, cut into pieces
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste

Other Ingredients

Yellow noodles
Vermicelli
Bean sprouts
10 shrimp, peeled, deveined, and cooked
3 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
Fish cakes, cut into pieces

Method:

In a stockpot, add the oil and sauté the instant curry paste until aromatic.Add the chicken broth, water, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, tofu puffs and bring the stock to boil.Lower the heat to simmer. Add the coconut milk and evaporated milk. Add salt to taste. Keep the stock on simmer.Rinse the yellow noodles, drained and set aside. Soak the dry vermicelli with some warm water until soft, drained and set aside.To assemble a bowl of laksa for serving, bring to boil some yellow noodles, vermicelli, and a handful of bean sprouts. Drain the noodles and transfer to a serving bowl.Top the noodles with 2-3 shrimp, a few pieces of fish cake, and 1-2 egg quarters.Using a ladle, pour the laksa broth and a few pieces of tofu puffs on top of the noodles.Serve immediately.

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