Skip to content
Open menu Close menu

Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors

penguin logo

Easy Laksa

by Gok Wan from Gok’s Wok

This Malaysian-inspired laksa is super easy to make and tasty too. With creamy coconut, mild spices and aromatic coriander, this Gok Wan recipe is a must try.

From the book

Introduction

My best friend E’lain was born and raised in Singapore … thank goodness! Over the last ten years, I’ve been lucky enough to visit Singapore with her and eat like a true Singaporean. I love the upscale hawker markets with their lane upon lane and stall upon stall of the best food Asia has to offer. One dish I’ll always hunt out like a bloodhound is a Malaysian laksa. As far as I’m concerned, this dish is the princess of the curry world: polite, fragrant, simple and modest. The flavours are a perfect blend of coconut and light spice, and even the chilli is a mere hint. Nothing like you’d find in a king balti. For any curry virgins out there, I urge you to add this dish to your repertoire.

Read more Read less

Ingredients

1 tsp rice bran oil or vegetable oil
3cm fresh galangal, peeled and finely chopped, or 2 tsp from a jar
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk of lemon grass, trimmed and finely chopped
2 fresh red chillies, split lengthways
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 Kaffir lime leaves
2 small tomatoes, roughly chopped into 2cm chunks
200ml hot vegetable stock
1 x 400ml tin of light coconut milk
150g skinless salmon fillet, chopped into rough 2cm chunks
8 raw king prawns, shelled
2 tsp fish sauce
200g vermicelli noodles, soaked according to the packet instructions
Optional: fresh coriander leaves, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a wok over a medium to high heat. When hot, add the galangal, ginger, garlic, lemon grass and chillies and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Sprinkle over the curry powder and turmeric, and continue to fry for 30 seconds before adding the lime leaves and tomatoes. Fry the mixture for 2-3 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to break down. Pour in the hot stock and the coconut milk. Give everything a stir, then bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat and let the soup simmer for 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.

Add the salmon chunks and the prawns to the soup with the fish sauce. Simmer gently for about 2 minutes, until cooked through.

Divide the noodles between serving bowls, pour over the hot laksa and scatter with coriander leaves, if using.

Reviews

5 out of 5 stars

3 Ratings

Have you tried this recipe? Let us know how it went by leaving a comment below.

Merry Christmas! It may take a little longer for our team to get back to your comment over the Christmas period.

Thank you for your rating. Our team will get back to any queries as soon as possible but this may take a little longer than usual over the Christmas period.

Please note: Moderation is enabled and may delay your comment being posted. There is no need to resubmit your comment. By posting a comment you are agreeing to the website Terms of Use.

3 Comments

    default user avatar Chrisy

    Easiest vegan laksa I’ve found!

    See more

    default user avatar Amber

    Yum! Great quick simple recipe. Good for those who can’t tolerate much spice. I left out the chilli and added two fresh sweet chillies. I also used a mild curry powder and added a dash of light soy.

    See more

newsletter

Subscribe to The Happy Foodie email newsletter

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week