Indulge in the ultimate Malaysian culinary delight: Malaysian Prawn Laksa. Creamy, fragrant, and packed with spicy flavours. It's my all time favourite dish and I'm sure you'll agree after the first delicious slurp.
2tbspcrispy onions (shop bought from any Asian supermarket) for garnish
2fresh coriander for garnish
1cupbeansprouts for garnish
4pieces of fried spongy tofu
Instructions
To make the laksa paste
Using a stick blender or food process or a pestle & mortar, grind together all the spice paste ingredients until very smooth. Set aside.
To make the soup
Heat a wok with the oil then add the laksa paste together with the lemon grass stalks and fry for about 8 minutes until the oils begin to separate.
Tip in all the coconut milk, then refill the can with water, TWICE and add that too. Finally, add the fish sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 15 minutes.
Drop in the prawns and simmer for 3-4 minutes until cooked. Remove from the heat. Add the sugar and then salt to your taste. Squeeze in the lime and keep hot.
Assembling the soup!
Arrange about 1 cup of vermicelli noodles and about 1/4 cup hokkien noodles in the bottom of a large Asian soup bowl with the prawns, then ladle over plenty of the piping hot broth. Add a small handful of beansprouts, a couple of pieces of tofu, a generous scattering of crispy onions and a sprig or two if coriander.
Notes
For added variety, top the soup with various toppings like peanuts, hard-boiled eggs, poached chicken, pork, fish balls, Vietnamese mint, sawtooth coriander, laksa leaves, mint leaves, radishes, tomatoes, shredded cabbage or lettuce, crispy garlic, mushrooms, or fungus.
Leftovers in the fridge: Be cautious as delicate noodles may soak up liquid and lose texture. Best consumed within a day.
Fridge/Freezer - soup base: The soup base stays fresh for 4-5 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer, stored in an airtight container. Portion them for convenient single servings to quickly garnish freshly cooked noodles for a meal. Avoid freezing the soup in its finished state.