Hawker it up in your own kitchen and get on this recipe for laksa.
Laksa is a dish that often appears in our lists of local must-eats. We’ve even compiled a round-up of our favourite laksa joints in town for when the craving hits. Want to try it out yourself? Make good use of your kitchen space with our very own laksa recipe, which serves four. Don’t scrimp on the sambal!
Laksa recipe
Ingredients for the rempah (spice paste):
- 16 shallots, minced
- 2 stalks lemongrass (just the tender part), sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 medium galangal, peeled and chopped
- 1 medium ginger, peeled and chopped
- 8 candlenuts
- 12 dried red chilies, soaked to soften, coarsely chopped
- 5 fresh red chillies, sliced
- 2 tsp belacan (dried shrimp paste), roasted
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp coriander seed
- 120ml peanut oil
…And the rest of it:
- 4tbsp vegetable oil
- 400g fish cake, thinly sliced
- 600g medium prawns, shells removed
- 900g fresh thick vermicelli
- 600g bean sprouts
- 150g dried shrimp
- 1 litre thick coconut milk
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- Sugar and salt to taste
- Laksa leaves to taste, finely chopped
Method:
- Pound all ingredients for the rempah with a mortar and pestle (or just blend everything in a food processor) until a smooth paste is formed.
- Boil a pot of water and cook the fish cake and prawns. Drain, remove from the heat and set aside. Toss the water.
- Blanch the vermicelli and bean sprouts, then drain. Divide into bowls. Top with the prawns and fish cake.
- Heat 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the rempah for 5-10 minutes. Add the dried shrimp and fry until dark brown and very fragrant.
- Add the rempah and coconut milk in a pot. Turn the heat up and bring it to a rolling boil, then season the broth with fish sauce, sugar, and salt to taste.
- Ladle in the broth and serve with a sprinkling of finely chopped laksa leaves and a dollop of sambal belacan.
- Enjoy!
