Talia's Laksa Recipe

Talia's Laksa Recipe

 

This recipe starts with an amusement park.  A few years ago, when we were in Hong Kong (which is where my dad grew up - we were visiting my dad’s mom), we went to Water World, a hybrid indoor-outdoor water amusement park.  While my kid was cavorting on the water slides, my dad and I sat at a table in the damp echo-ey cavern and ordered food.  I ordered a hot dog, because my general policy is that amusement park food sucks, so I should get something that’s hard to mess up.  How bad can a hot dog be?

My dad (who has always been a wild card) ordered some laksa noodles.  What are laksa noodles, I wondered?  I had no idea.  I got a wrinkled hot dog (which was… fine).  But my dad got a fragrant bowl of delicious seafood curry noodles.  And I realized that maybe my policy about amusement park food didn’t apply in Asia.  

I came home, determined to try making laksa noodles.  After some hunting, I found laksa sauce at the Hung Vuong market at 11th & Washington.  I also read the Woks of Life laksa recipe but ended up modifying it considerably.  This is a fast-and-loose recipe that is very flexible and also a great build-your-own style meal for a big crowd of people with different preferences.  It’s rich and savory and filling and delicious.  

Ingredients:

  • 1 laksa jar

  • 1 can of coconut milk

  • A shallot (or onion, or scallion, or whatever allium you might have around)

  • Broth or water

  • Whatever toppings you like: 

    • Some fish (cut into bite-sized chunks) and/or shrimp (I’ve been really happy using skate, black sea bass, fluke, and dogfish in this recipe)

    • Some tofu (I like tofu puffs in here, but regular firm tofu is also fine)

    • Some veggies according to your taste (some possibilities include bean sprouts or bitter greens)

  • Noodles of choice (I like it with thick wheat noodles like udon, but you can do it with rice noodles or cellophane noodles or whatever you have on hand)

  • Lime if you have it

Steps

  1. Saute the shallot in some oil

  2. Add the laksa sauce, let the aromatics cook a bit

  3. Add the coconut milk and broth.  

  4. Cook the noodles separately in the meantime.  

  5. Once the soup is hot, add the toppings and cook until just done.  

  6. Put noodles in the bowls, and spoon soup over them.  

  7. Squeeze a lime in if you have it.  Yum.  

 

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