Traditional Laksa Recipes

LAKSA

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper (we used white pepper, but you can also use black pepper), and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
• While the chicken is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large saucepan or medium pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the minced lemongrass and chilies, and cook for 3 minutes.
• Add the laksa paste and brown sugar. Fry for another 3 minutes, letting all the flavors meld together. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil. Add the soy puffs, cover, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, rinse the noodles in warm water (for cooked hokkien noodles or rice vermicelli) or prepare according to package instructions (for fresh or dried wheat noodles). Distribute among four large noodle soup bowls.
• Shred the cooked chicken and skin and distribute among the bowls. Pour any juices from the roasting pan into the broth. (You can even use a little bit of warm water to scrape any lingering tasty bits off the parchment paper).
• Season the broth with lime juice and more fish sauce to taste, until your broth has reached your desired levels of saltiness/sourness. If you would rather not use fish sauce as your salting agent (it can be quite pungent to some palates), season with salt instead.
• Meanwhile, toss the thinly sliced shallots in flour until they're lightly coated. In a cast iron pan, heat an additional 2 tablespoons oil. Fry the shallots until crispy and set aside.
• Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and sear them in the same oil you used to cook the shallots, just until they're cooked through.
• To assemble the laksa, pour the broth over the noodles and chicken, and add a couple pieces of soy puff to each. Top with the cooked shrimp, bean sprouts, cilantro, and fried shallots. Serve with extra lime wedges, and enjoy!

LAKSA

Steps:

• Add the fish, ginger, tamarind apple, and a teaspoon of salt into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for about 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Turn off the heat, then take out the fish and reserve the cooking water.
• Debone the fish and weigh the meat (you should get about 200 g). Put the heads and the bones into a blender, add the cooking water, and blend. After straining the mixture, reserve the liquid and discards the solids.
• Add the strained liquid into a clean blender jug. Put the fish meat in, then blend until smooth.
• For the gravy, soak the dried chilies in hot water for about 15 minutes, until softened. Rinse and remove the majority of the seeds. In a blender, blend the softened chilies, shallots, shrimp paste, and 75 ml of water.
• Pour the chili mixture into a large saucepan, add 300 ml of water and slices of tamarind apple, daun kesum, and ginger. Season with salt and sugar, then bring to a boil. After simmering for approximately 10 minutes over a low flame, add the blended fish, then simmer for 10 more minutes. Add some more seasonings, if needed, and remove from the heat.
• Cook the noodles according to the package directions, then strain. Slice, then nicely arrange the garnishes on a serving platter.
• When ready to serve, reheat the gravy. Add some noodles into shallow soup bowls and cover them with hot gravy. Garnish with the prepared ingredients and serve at once.

CHICKEN LAKSA

Steps:

• Put the chicken in a large saucepan with the coriander seeds, ginger, lemongrass, lime zest and a little salt. Add enough cold water to cover, slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, gently poaching the chicken for 40 mins until it starts to fall away from the bone.
• Carefully lift the chicken onto a plate and cover with foil. Leave the stock to stand for 10 mins, skim off any excess fat and strain into a clean saucepan. Pull the chicken from the bones and tear into chunks.
• Bring the stock back to the boil, then add the fish sauce, soy, coconut milk, garlic, chillies and coriander stalks. Simmer for 2 mins, return the chicken to the pan and cook for a further 5 mins until warm. Add the spring onions and lime juice to taste.
• Divide the noodles between 6 bowls, then use a slotted spoon to lift the chicken and veg into each. Season the stock and pour over. Scatter with coriander and mint leaves, and serve with a drizzle of sesame oil, if you like.