Laksa is a wonderful spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia.
For all great ideas there are hundreds of versions, but like all my recipes this one is Simple. Delicious. Nutritious. A laksa is a gorgeous meal for a dinner party of any sort, as it looks impressive, tastes pretty sensational and takes little time.
You do need a good blender to make the paste, and then it’s all straightforward from there. Feel free to play with ingredients and make you own version depending on taste:
- In place of Thai Basil you could use Kaffir Lime Leaves (which I love but aren’t always easy to get hold of and fresh are far superior to dry) or coriander.
- You could use a different nut butter such as almond or cashew.
- You could leave out the chilli or add more in!
- Vegetable options are numerous and easily swapped - more info below on what I used.
- Proteins: tofu (silken or firm) salmon, prawns, chicken breast are the standard ones
The beauty of a recipe like this is your options once you have the base, it also is the make in advance and throw together when you’re ready. I have also made double the paste and frozen half of it, creating an incredible home cooked meal with almost no effort.
RECIPE:
4 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
1 red chilli
1tsp turmeric
2 sticks lemongrass - I take the outer peel off and then chop into small pieces
2 spring onions
1 large handful of Thai basil
2 tsps peanut butter
Juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsps sesame oil
Blend all of the above together until smooth.
Place in a large pan and add 2 pints of stock - you can use any stock that you like, chicken, fish, mushroom, miso….. and then add a tin of coconut milk.
This is the basis of your Laksa and can be made in advance and then used when you’re ready.
You can then add whatever vegetables take your fancy but some combination of these are very complimentary to this type of soup:
Baby corn
Pak Choi
Courgette
Tenderstem broccoli
Beansprouts
Spring onion
Mange tout
Sugar snap peas
Green beans
Aubergine
So heat the soup, throw in the vegetables and let them cook in the stock with the lid on, for about 5 mins depending on which veg you are using and how tender or al dente you like them.
For the protein either add in with the vegetables - this would work especially well with tofu, prawns, or sliced cooked chicken breast. Alternatively bake some crispy tofu or salmon in the oven whilst the soup is being made and place on top at the end.
Simple. Delicious. Nutritious.