Mom's Sarawak Laksa with Homemade Laksa Paste
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
30 mins
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Cook Time
50 mins
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Total Time
1 hr 20 mins
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Servings
6
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Calories
290 kcal
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Course
Main Course
Mom's Sarawak Laksa with Homemade Laksa Paste
Description
This Sarawak Laksa recipe begins with preparing a homemade laksa paste blending fresh aromatics such as red Thai chilies, shallots, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, and candlenuts, along with ground coriander, cumin, tamarind pulp, and seasoning. The paste is cooked slowly until fragrant and thick, with added sugar, curry powder, paprika, and salt to deepen the flavor. This base combines savory, spicy, sour, and slightly sweet notes.
The laksa soup is made by simmering the paste with chicken broth and canned coconut milk, yielding a creamy and aromatic broth. The toppings include fine rice vermicelli noodles, shredded cooked chicken breast, halved boiled shrimp or prawns, scrambled egg cut into thin strips, tofu puffs, julienned cucumber, lightly cooked bean sprouts, lime wedges, and fresh laksa leaves. These provide a balance of soft, crunchy, and fresh textures and flavors that enliven the rich broth.
Serving this laksa involves assembling the noodles and toppings in bowls, ladling the hot soup over them, and adding lime wedges and optional chili or fermented shrimp paste for more complexity. Make the laksa paste ahead of time and store it refrigerated or frozen for convenience. The recipe offers a deeply layered, hearty dish suitable for a special meal with its distinct Malaysian-style spice mix and balanced richness from the coconut milk.
Ingredients
Laksa Paste:
- 5 small bird's eye chili stalks removed, red Thai
- 4 onion chopped, or shallots (1 medium
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced, fresh
- 1 tablespoon galangal blue ginger, chopped, fresh
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 talks lemongrass cut into large chunks, fresh
- 6 candlenuts (or you can use macadamia nuts or a handful of cashew nuts if you can't find candlenut)
- 2 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon cumin ground
- 3 Tbsp (50g) tamarind pulp or if using tamarind paste, depending on how runny the tamarind paste is, use 4-6 tablespoon and omit the water, ¾ cup warm water
- 3 Tbsp (50g) water or if using tamarind paste, depending on how runny the tamarind paste is, use 4-6 tablespoon and omit the water, ¾ cup warm water
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil or vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon curry powder Malaysian-style
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoon salt sea salt
Soup base:
- 4 C chicken broth add more if you prefer it more soupy
- 1 can coconut milk
Toppings for laksa:
- 1 pkg rice vermicelli noodles cooked and drained, fine
- 2 chicken breasts cooked and shredded, seasoned
- 12 large Shrimp boiled and sliced in half, or prawns
- 4 large egg scrambled and cooked omelette-style, cut into thin strips
- 1 pkg tofu puffs boiled and drained
- 1 cucumber julienned
- 1 pkg bean sprout washed and lightly cooked with hot boiled water
- 2 lime cut into wedges
- laksa leaves cut into thin strips, rau ram, Vietnamese coriander
- red chili optional, Thai
- fermented shrimp paste optional, belacan
Instructions
Make the laksa paste:
- In a food processor or high-powered blender, combine the red Thai chilies, shallots, ginger, galangal, garlic, lemongrass, candlenuts (or macadamia/cashew), coriander, cumin, tamarind paste, warm water, and 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, until fragrant, stirring intermittently.
- Once the paste is nutty in aroma and has thickened significantly, add in the sugar, curry powder, paprika, and salt, and cook for another 5 minutes. Again, stirring every so often.
- Turn off the heat.
- 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:
- To the laksa paste, add in 4 C of chicken broth and 1 can coconut milk. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium heat.
- If the consistency of the soup is a little too thick, add a little more chicken broth or water. Keep the soup hot for serving.
Assemble:
- Place the cooked rice vermicelli noodles into a serving bowl. Top with shredded chicken, shrimp, egg, tofu puffs, cucumber, and bean sprouts.
- Ladle the hot soup over top of the noodles. Add a squeeze of lime over top and garnish with laksa leaves (rau ram), additional Thai chilies and belacan (if desired).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Prepare the laksa paste ahead to save time; it can be refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- For longer storage, freeze the laksa paste in an airtight container for up to 6 months without loss of flavor.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 6Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 290 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 290kcal | 15% |
| Carbohydrates | 11g | 4% |
| Protein | 10g | 20% |
| Fat | 25g | 38% |
| Saturated Fat | 16g | 80% |
| Trans Fat | 1g | 50% |
| Cholesterol | 139mg | 46% |
| Sodium | 1501mg | 63% |
| Potassium | 536mg | 11% |
| Fiber | 4g | 16% |
| Sugar | 4g | 8% |
| Vitamin A | 299IU | 6% |
| Vitamin C | 25mg | 28% |
| Calcium | 111mg | 11% |
| Iron | 5mg | 28% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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