Prawn Laksa
By: heymrleej
Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 - 5:03pm

Ingredients




Spice paste:

1/2 teaspoon dried turmeric
1 tablespoon fresh galangal (chopped)
6 dried red chillies (soaked for 20 mins)
2 fresh hot red chillies (chopped)
3 macadamia nuts (pounded)
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
110 grams shallots (or onion)
1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
Soup:

2 tablespoons peanut oil
 litres coconut milk
1 lemon grass stalk (trimmed and bruised at end)
500 grams king prawns (whole, with shells)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1/2 lemon (juice of)
1 teaspoon sugar
Garnishes:

fresh coriander leaves

fresh mint leaves

2 cups vermicelli noodles (cooked)
2 cups hokkien noodles (cooked)
shop-bought crispy onions

lemon wedges

Preparation

1 To make the laksa paste: 2 Grind together all the ingredients for 20 minutes or so in a pestle and mortar until smooth. Set aside. 3 To make the soup: 4 Shell the prawns, removing the tails also. Set the flesh aside. Place all the shells into a large saucepan with 500ml water the sugar and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Pass through a fine seive retaining the liquid. Discard the shells. 5 Heat a wok with the oil then add the laksa paste together with the lemon grass stalks and fry until the oils begin to separate. Tip in all the coconut milk, the prawn stock and fish sauce and bring to a boil. Simmer gently for 30 minutes. 6 Drop in the prawns and simmer for 3-4 minutes until cooked. Remove from the heat. Add the sugar and lemon juice to your taste.

About


Laksa is a speciality of Malaysia and is one of the tastiest soups around. Packed full of taste and guaranteed to warm and fill you up. The spicy, creamy texture of the soup is perfect alongside the rice noodles, aromatic herbs and crunchy garnishes.