Malaysian · Free recipe
Coconut Curry Laksa
A homemade spice paste of lemongrass, shallots, chilies, and shrimp paste fries until fragrant, then simmers with coconut milk and broth into a rich, spicy, orange-red soup. Rice noodles, shrimp, tofu puffs, and bean sprouts fill each generous bowl.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 1 hr
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Hard
Method
-
Drain the soaked chilies and blend them with the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, turmeric, shrimp paste, and 2 tablespoons of the oil into a smooth, thick paste, adding a splash of water if the blades stall.
-
Heat the remaining oil in a large pot over medium heat and fry the paste for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it darkens, smells deeply aromatic, and the oil begins to separate at the edges.
-
Pour in the broth, bring to a boil, then stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, and sugar. Simmer gently for 10 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to the package, drain, and rinse briefly under warm water. Divide among 4 deep bowls with the bean sprouts.
-
Add the tofu puffs and shrimp to the simmering broth and cook for 3 minutes, until the shrimp are pink and the tofu has soaked up the soup.
-
Taste and adjust with more fish sauce or sugar, then ladle the broth, shrimp, and tofu over the noodles and serve immediately with lime wedges if you like.
Zest note from the test kitchen
Be patient when frying the paste; when the oil visibly separates and pools around it, the raw edge of the shallots and chilies is gone, and that is when the laksa gets its depth.
