Mom’s Sarawak Laksa
Sarawak Laksa is a comforting Malaysian noodle soup that is spicy, bright, warming, and full of flavour. For a quick and easy meal, prepare your sauce and your topping ingredients ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to use.
Servings: 6 - 8 people
Ingredients
Laksa Paste
- 5 small red thai chilies, stems removed
- 4 shallots or 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
- 1 Tbsp fresh galangal (blue ginger), chopped (or more fresh ginger)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 2 stalks lemongrass, cut into large chunks
- 6 macadamia nuts (or a handful of cashew nuts)
- 2 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 3 tablespoon tamarind paste*
- ¾ C warm water
- 2 tablespoon canola oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar), packed
- 1 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 tsp coarse sea salt
For The Laksa Soup
- 4 C chicken broth
- 1 (13.5oz) can coconut milk
Toppings For Laksa
- 1 package rice vermicelli noodles, cooked and drained
- 2 seasoned chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
- 12 large shrimp, boiled and sliced in half
- 4 eggs, scrambled and fried omelette-style, cut into thin strips
- 1 pkg tofu puffs, boiled and drained
- 1 cucumber, julienned
- 1 pkg bean sprouts, washed and lightly cooked with hot boiled water
- 2 limes, cut into wedges
- laksa leaves (ram rau), cut into thin strips (or fresh cilantro leaves, chopped)
Instructions
Make The Laksa Paste
- In a food processor, combine all the red thai chili, shallots, ginger, galangal, garlic, lemongrass, macadamia nuts, coriander, cumin, tamarind paste, water, and canola oil. Pulse until a smooth paste is formed.
- Transfer the pureed paste into a large pot and cook over medium heat for about 30-40 minutes, stirring intermittently.
- Add in the sugar, curry powder, paprika, and salt, and stir for another 5 minutes.
- If not using the paste right away, let the laksa paste completely cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or freezer for up to 6 months.
Make The Laksa Soup
- If ready to make the laksa soup, add in 4 C of chicken broth and 1 can coconut milk to the laksa paste. Stir and bring to a simmer. If the consistency of the soup is a little too thick, add a little more chicken broth or water. Keep the soup warm.
Assemble The Laksa
- Place the rice vermicelli noodles into a serving bowl. Top with shredded chicken, shrimp, egg, tofu puffs, cucumber, and bean sprouts.
- Add the hot soup over top of the noodles.
- Squeeze some lime juice over top and garnish with laksa leaves.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
*Tamarind paste can be difficult to find in some grocery stores. Look in Asian grocery stores or World Market.
If you can’t find tamarind paste, you can substitute 1 ½ tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 ½ tablespoon water, and 1 teaspoon brown sugar, mixed well, for the 3 tablespoon tamarind paste called for in this recipe.