Few dishes offer the same level of comfort and complexity as a steaming bowl of laksa. For those unfamiliar, this is a noodle soup popular in southeast Asia, and if you are familiar with Malaysian cooking, then you’ll know that you’re in for a dish that is absolutely packed with amazing flavor. This is a dish that has everything you love about making a great meal; sure, it tastes great at the end (spoiler alert), but it smells equally amazing the entire time you’re making it. And to top it all off, the process is not nearly as complex as the rich flavors of the final dish might lead you to believe, so without further delay, let’s dive in.
The soul of any laksa is its paste, without it you just have brothy noodles, tender Halal chicken, and a mix of a few other veggies and aromatics, which actually sounds pretty good, but I digress. The laksa paste is the secret to all the flavor, and part of the reason why it’s so decadently creamy in the end. A fragrant blend of lemongrass, garlic, shallots, dried chilies, and shrimp paste forms the base, and after that’s blended with Halal chicken broth, you’ll have the perfect paste to start cooking.
This is a great recipe to make with just one pot, both for convenience and to infuse everything with the flavor so none of it goes to waste. We started by cooking some Halal chicken breast from Midamar, which is always a great choice for lovers of juicy and tender chicken. And who isn’t? We used poached shrimp as well that will come in later, and this can be done easily in a pot of water before you make your rice noodles towards the end.
Laksa broth is where everything comes together. When you start to simmer the paste, you’ll start to get a lot from those great aromatics that you prepared earlier. Then to finish getting that smooth and creamy texture you’re looking for, add some more Halal chicken broth and coconut cream and let all that simmer together, both for the texture and to let all the flavors present get to know each other. The shallot and dried chilies do their part making it savory with just a bit of spice, and the coconut cream adds another dimension by cutting those and adding its own bit of sweetness.
By this point, the soup is practically begging to be mixed into some noodles so you can start enjoying it. The good news is that rice noodles cook in no time, so you can get to appreciating this dish sooner. As good as the soup would be just on noodles, don’t get ahead of yourself, and remember to top it with your chicken and shrimp, along with a few tasty additions like bean sprouts, fried shallot, and a couple mint leaves to round out the flavor.
It's easy to see why this dish is such a classic for so many people. It’s decadently creamy, rich and flavorful, and doesn’t ask a lot of you to achieve such a well-rounded flavor sensation. If this is a favorite of yours already, then you know what I’m talking about, and I hope we did this recipe justice. But if you’ve never tried it before and are curious, then do yourself a favor and give this a try! When you do, be sure to share it with a fellow flavor aficionado and we hope to see you next see you next time!
