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Laksa lemak (Malay curry laksa)

Name: Laksa lemak (Malay curry laksa)
Prep time: 50 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 8 piece small dried red chillies; 2 tbsp dried shrimp; 5 piece red Asian shallots, chopped; 1 tbsp galangal, finely chopped; 3 clove garlic, chopped; 2 piece large lemongrass stalks, trimmed and chopped; 6 piece candlenuts, chopped; 1 tbsp belachan (dried shrimp paste); 2 tsp ground coriander; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 60 ml vegetable oil; 1.5 l chicken stock; 2.5 tsp palm sugar, grated; 450 g chicken thighs, thickly sliced (bone and skin on, or fillets); 12 piece large raw king prawns, shelled and deveined, tails on; 500 ml coconut milk; 12 piece fish balls; 150 g tofu puffs, thickly sliced; 200 g bean sprouts; 500 g fresh thin rice noodles; fried Asian shallots, Vietnamese mint, chilli sambal (optional) and lime wedges, to serve

Laksa lemak

Fresh rice noodles in a spiced coconut broth built on a paste of dried chillies, dried shrimp, lemongrass, galangal, candlenuts and shrimp paste, with chicken, prawns, fish balls, tofu puffs and bean sprouts. Leanne Kitchen's recipe for SBS Food serves four to six.

Editorial illustration of the documented recipe; not a photograph of a kitchen-tested result.

Servings: 4
Preparation: 50 min
Cooking: 20 min
Resting: 20 min
Total: 1 h 30
Difficulty: Moderate

Equipment

Food processor
Large saucepan
Large heatproof bowl for the noodles

Substitutions

Candlenuts → Macadamia nuts (a tree-nut allergen).
Fresh rice noodles → Dried rice vermicelli, soaked as the packet says.

Common mistakes

Boiling after the coconut milk goes in: it splits and the prawns toughen.
Skimping on frying the paste: the broth tastes raw.

Storage & reheating

The broth keeps 2 days in the fridge without the noodles and seafood; reheat until it just simmers and add fresh noodles.

Safety

Allergens: crustaceans (prawns, dried shrimp, belachan), fish (fish balls), soy (tofu puffs), celery (many stocks). Fish balls may contain wheat: check labels.

Allergens

Crustaceans · Fish · Soy · Celery

Check labels: stock, bacon and sauces can contain further allergens.

Not a dish of subtlety

Leanne Kitchen's recipe, first printed in Feast magazine and published by SBS Food, presents laksa lemak as a Malay curry laksa traditionally made with rice noodles, prawns, chicken, tofu puffs and fish balls. She calls it not a dish of subtlety: it is meant to be sweet, sour, salty and spicy at once. Compare nasi lemak, also built on coconut milk and a chilli paste.

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Paste, broth, quick poach

The flavour is in the paste: dried chillies and dried shrimp, soaked and blended with shallots, galangal, garlic, lemongrass, candlenuts, shrimp paste and ground spices, then fried briefly in oil. Stock and palm sugar make the broth; chicken and prawns poach in it for only a few minutes, and the coconut milk goes in last, kept below a simmer.

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