Laksa is a delicious South East Asian curried soup and its perfect for using up left over roast chicken, or at Christmas, Turkey. Its best described as creamy, sweet but with a slight kick.. You can garnish it full of crunchy fresh veg and just dig in.
Of course if this can be enjoyed with some fresh seafood such as prawns or scallops just be sure to add them a little earlier then you would with pre-cooked chicken to ensure they are cooked through nicely. They will take about 10mins to cook through from raw.
I've added a recipe for an easy homemade paste but of course there are lots of delicious ready made pastes available in most supermarkets for an even quicker dinner.
Generous portions!
Prep time 15mins
Cooking time 25mins
2tbsp veg oil
3tbsp laksa curry paste (ingredients below)
1 tin coconut milk (400ml)
400ml veg or chicken stock
Handful of baby sweetcorn
Left over roast chicken or turkey, about 250g
2 Birdseye chillis, roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks, root end removed like you would a carrot, the rest roughly chopped
Thumbsized piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
2 banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
2tsp ground cumin
2tsp ground turmeric
2tsp medium curry powder
2tbsp fish sauce
2tbsp veg oil
Noodles, 2 nests, cooked according to packet instructions
Fresh mint
Fresh coriander
Wedge of lime per bowl
1 Shredded carrot
2 Spring onions, finely sliced
If you are making your own paste then place all of the paste ingredients in a food processor and whizz until its as smooth as you can get it.. add a splash more of oil or water if its to thick to blend, don't worry you'll never be completely smooth because of the lemongrass. Leave to one side until we need it.
Heat the veg oil on a medium heat in a saucepan, add your curry paste and fry gently for about 5 mins. The key to knowing when your paste is nicely cooked is that the oil will take on the colour of the paste.
When your oil is nicely coloured and fragrant add the coconut milk and stock, stir well.
Turn the heat up and allow to reduce for about 10 mins, remembering that we don't want the sauce to be as thick as a regular curry but in fact more a soup consistancy, if it does get to thick at any point just add a splash of water to loosen it back up again.
With 5 minutes to go add in the pre-cooked chicken and baby corn. Make sure you have your noodles ready cooked and vanishes prepped and available.
Serve by dividing the noodle in to 2 bowls, ladle the mixture over the noodles and garnish with all the lovely herbs and crunchy veg.
You can make a big batch of the paste and it will keep in the freezer for 2 months, keep them in ice cube trays to easily pop them out as and when you need them.
