Last night we wanted something spicy so opted for ‘laksa’. In case you haven’t come across this, it is a delicious noodle soup. The origin of the soup is a bit vague (possibly derived from the word ‘noodles’) and it has become very popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. I think that the Asian influence brought it to Australia and it was there that we first tried it and loved it. It is spicy but you can vary the spice content to taste – we like it hot, you may want to temper it slightly.

This recipe has been inspired (and heavily influenced) by a version created by Ian Parmenter of Consuming Passions fame. The original recipe can be found here: Super smooth laksa. This version uses udon noodles made here at home. For instructions on how to make the noodles see: Udon noodles.

A quick observation about laksa/curry pastes. There are ‘pastes’ and ‘cook-in-sauces’; these are not the same. This recipe calls for a ‘paste’. Not all pastes are equal. Find one that is authentic (perhaps made in Asia). One way to tell is to look at the ingredients. The paste I am using contains: Green Chilli, Lemongrass, Garlic, Salt, Galangal, Shrimp paste, Kaffir lime peel, Coriander seed, Pepper, Cumin, and Turmeric. Compare this to some available in the supermarket and you will see ingredients such as: Water, diced onion, green peppers, white wine vinegar, corn starch, and orange juice. My advice is to choose carefully and, if you can’t find a good paste send me a message and I’ll send you my homemade recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 or 3 spring onions
• 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 2cm ginger (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of oil (I use a mixture of vegetable and sesame oils)
• 1 tablespoon of laksa or curry paste (see below for details)
• Juice of half a lemon
• 1 litre of vegetable stock
• 400ml (1 can) of coconut milk
• Some vegetables and, perhaps, tofu
• 1 portion of udon noodles
• Coriander (or Thai basil) leaves to serve (optional)

Chop up the spring onions (the whole spring onion including the green section) and fry them in the oils along with the ginger and garlic for about 3 minutes over a medium heat.

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Now add the paste. The original recipe calls for ‘laksa paste’. I don’t have this, but I do have ‘Thai green curry paste’ which works well. How much you put in will dictate how hot your final laksa will be. We like it hot so we use a tablespoon… you might want to start with a desert spoon (or even one or two teaspoons). Stir the paste through and fry for another couple of minutes.

Add the lemon juice and slowly add the vegetable stock stirring as you go.

And now add the coconut milk and bring the soup to a very slow simmer.

It is now time to add the vegetables. You can decide what to add – generally I add whatever I’ve got in the fridge draw… this time it was carrots and cabbage, sliced and shredded.

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Mushrooms work well and Ian suggests strips of courgette (zucchini). Stir these through and gently simmer for a couple of minutes. The soup can now taken off the heat, covered and left until you are ready to eat. Note: you can add tofu or chicken – if you decide to add chicken you need to simmer long enough to cook the chicken but be careful not to over-cook it.

Hopefully, you will have made some udon noodles to go with this soup. You can use bought noodles and you can use rice noodles for a gluten-free version. After rinsing your noodles in cold water add them to the soup.

And, finally bring the soup to a simmer and serve. If you have them, fresh coriander leaves on top are very good – I used shredded Thai basil leaves.

Yum