While I was familiar with all the Malay curry laksa ingredients, I didn’t have many of them in the cupboard, so I headed to Sydney’s Burwood, where Asian supermarkets abound. I wandered into the Jasmine Food Market and purposefully collected a bag of tofu puffs and some bean sprouts, and then my mission ground to a halt; the range at Jasmine is extensive and my inability to find any of the other ingredients made me realise how much we rely on recognising packaging when we shop. Or is that just me? Thankfully, a store employee saw my dilemma and quickly filled my basket with the remainder of my list. All I needed was a tin of wasabi peas to snack on in the car and I was done.
Putting the laksa paste together was simple and satisfying – that list of spicy goodness (even the stinky belacan [shrimp paste]) combined to create a wonderful flavour base. I was surprised to see sweet paprika in the ingredient list – it’s not a spice that I would have associated with Malaysian cuisine. I also decided to make a double quantity of the paste, so I could have some in the fridge to make soup in a snap the next time I had a laksa craving. I only have a large food processor (note to Mr Ed, my birthday is coming up – a small food processor would be nice!), and I needed to add a little of the shrimp soaking water to get it to come together. It didn’t process quite as finely as I would have liked, so there were a few stringy lemongrass strands in there.
Once the paste was done, the laksa came together quickly and easily – as simple as boiling water (or in this case, stock) really. Mr Ed is not generally a fan of soup for dinner but he finished his off with a flourish and declared it delicious. I loved all the different elements – especially the tofu puffs and the rice noodles – and the flavours were fabulous. Not too spicy, but certainly plenty going on there. And there was enough left over for seconds – or the freezer!
Now it’s your turn to give us some laksa love! Do you have a variation on this classic Malaysian dish? We’d love to hear about it.
Editor, Feast
