Curry laksa is Malaysia in a bowl: a rich, lemongrass-scented coconut curry broth over slippery noodles, loaded with prawns, tofu puffs that drink the soup, bean sprouts and a fiery dab of sambal. It is the hawker-stall lunch people fly home for, and the broth is entirely buildable in a home kitchen.
The laksa paste
- Shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal and fresh turmeric
- Dried chilies, soaked, plus candlenuts or macadamias for body
- Belacan (shrimp paste), the funky soul of the broth
- Blitzed smooth and fried in oil until fragrant and split
Building the bowl
- Fry the paste low and slow until the oil turns red: this step is the flavour.
- Add stock and coconut milk: simmer twenty minutes.
- Season with fish sauce and a pinch of sugar: poach the prawns in the broth.
- Bowl the noodles (thick rice noodles, or a mix with egg noodles), add tofu puffs and sprouts.
- Ladle over the hot broth and finish with egg, laksa leaf or coriander, lime and sambal.
The tofu puff trick
Fried tofu puffs are laksa’s secret sponges: halve them so they soak up broth and burst with soup when bitten. They are sold in bags at any Asian grocer and freeze well, so keep a stash. Between the puffs, the noodles and the prawns, every spoonful of a good laksa carries three textures and one unified, coconut-rich heat.
Make the paste work twice
The paste is the labour, so double it: it freezes for months and turns a weeknight into a fifteen-minute laksa with stock, coconut milk and whatever protein the fridge offers. Chicken laksa, cockle laksa, an all-vegetable version with extra puffs: the broth forgives everything except timidity with the sambal.
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