Laksa

Ingredients

• 300g rice noodles
• 400g prawns or chicken
• 1 can coconut milk
• 3 cups stock
• Paste: 8 dried chillies soaked, 2 stalks lemongrass, 4 shallots, 6 garlic cloves, 1 inch ginger, 1 inch turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp shrimp paste
• 1 tbsp tamarind
• Bean sprouts, boiled egg, coriander, lime
• 4 tbsp oil

Method

1. Blend all the paste ingredients with a little water until completely smooth. Lumpy paste means a gritty broth.
2. Fry the paste in oil on medium for 10 minutes. It must darken and the oil must separate out — this is the step that decides the whole dish.
3. Stock in, simmer 10 minutes.
4. Coconut milk and tamarind, then a gentle simmer only. Never boil coconut milk hard.
5. Prawns for the last 3 minutes.
6. Noodles in bowls, broth over, then sprouts, halved boiled egg, coriander and a lot of lime.