One of the great benefits of forced relaxation is that I had to time to hunt down the world’s best laksa recipe. Laksa is much easier to make then you might think. You make the paste first, prepare the rice noodles, and then the toppings. The toppings can include any combination of chicken, shrimp, tofu, finely minced coriander, bean sprouts, vietnamese mint, green onion and boiled eggs. A little taste of sambal on the side completes this very tasty soup.
I found the best recipe for Laksa all the way over in Brisbane at a blog called Eat Brisbane Something I didn’t know about that this blog talks about is ‘mastering the art of tumis’ which is frying a paste until it is properly caramelized.
Laksa paste:
3 lemongrass stalks, lower 2 inches only, sliced
1 cm galangal peeled and sliced (or fresh ginger)
3 candlenuts (or macadamia nuts), chopped
12 dried chillis, reconstituted in warm water
6 shallots, sliced
2 tbsp dried shrimp, reconstituted in warm water ( I couldn’t find this so used a bit of fish sauce, possibly a big fauz pas but it tasted great in the end!)
1 tbsp tumeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp shrimp paste (trassi) (that smelly stuff from Asian grocers)
water
vegetable oil
Place all ingredients into a blender with a little oil and water and blend till smooth. Add more oil and water as necessary to keep the mixture blending.
Tumis as per these guidelines.
2 cups coconut milk
3 cups water
salt
sugar
rice noodles and condiments to serve
vietnamese mint (laksa leaf), chopped (or coriander, celery, green onion…these are my additions and likely not traditional but good nonetheless)
Once paste is properly tumis-ed, add in water and coconut milk. Return to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. Season to taste with salt and sugar. Ladle over a bowl of noodles and top with condiments. Enjoy!
Condofire 