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4.8 from 15 votes

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.

Prep Time
2 hrs
Cook Time
mins
Total Time
2 hrs 20 mins
Servings: 6 - 8 people
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian , Malaysian

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 talks lemongrass, cut into large chunks
  • 6 macadamia nuts (or a handful of cashew nuts)
  • 2 Tbsp ground Coriander
  • 1 Tbsp ground cumin
  • 3 Tbsp tamarind paste*
  • ¾ C warm water
  • 2 Tbsp canola oil (or vegetable oil)
  • 1 Tbsp coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar), packed
  • 1 Tbsp curry powder
  • 1 Tbsp 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 easoned 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
    Cup of Yum
  1. 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.
  2. Transfer the pureed paste into a large pot and cook over medium heat for about 30-40 minutes, stirring intermittently.
  3. Add in the sugar, curry powder, paprika, and salt, and stir for another 5 minutes.
  4. 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
  1. 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
  1. Place the rice vermicelli noodles into a serving bowl. Top with shredded chicken, shrimp, egg, tofu puffs, cucumber, and bean sprouts.
  2. Add the hot soup over top of the noodles.
  3. Squeeze some lime juice over top and garnish with laksa leaves.
  4. 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 Tbsp fresh lime juice, 1 ½ Tbsp water, and 1 tsp brown sugar, mixed well, for the 3 Tbsp tamarind paste called for in this recipe.