Meera Sodha’s 18-Carat Laksa
If you have a glut of carrots that need using up, this filling and fragrant curried laksa uses a full kilo!
From the book
Dinner: 120 vegan and vegetarian recipes for the most important meal of the day
Over 120 vegan and vegetarian recipes for a good evening meal.
Plus mouth-watering desserts and versatile side dishes.
Easy, quick cook and one pot dishes for easy dinners.
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Introduction
The only thing I know of to be more successful than this recipe in dispatching a whole bag of carrots is a horse. Roasted, the carrots’ natural sweetness counters the intensity of the aromatics and spices in this curried laksa and, along with the coconut milk, balances it out perfectly. On a separate note, it’s taken me ten years to finally write a recipe that uses a kilo of carrots for a main course. I’m so proud of it, I may just frame it and put it up next to my Grade 1 piano certificate in the downstairs bathroom.
Ingredients
| For the quick pickled bean sprouts: | |
|---|---|
| 100g | bean sprouts |
| 2 tbsp | white wine vinegar |
| 2 tsp | salt |
| For the laksa: | |
| 1kg | carrots, peeled |
| 2 tbsp + 6 tbsp | rapeseed oil |
| salt | |
| 1 | brown onion, chopped |
| 6 cloves of | garlic, chopped |
| 3cm x 3cm | ginger, chopped |
| 2 sticks | lemongrass, outer leaves and top third discarded, the rest chopped |
| 15 | fresh curry leaves |
| 4 tsp | Kashmiri chilli powder |
| 2 tsp | mild curry powder |
| 1 tbsp | caster sugar |
| 2½ tbsp | light soy sauce |
| 1 x 400ml tin of | coconut milk |
| 240g or 16 | tofu puffs |
| 320g | medium rice vermicelli noodles |
| 20g | fresh Thai basil, leaves picked, to serve |
Essential kit
You will need a small blender.
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 7.
To make the pickle, pop the bean sprouts into a small heatproof bowl with the vinegar, salt and 150ml of freshly boiled water and leave to one side for 10 minutes, then drain.
Meanwhile, halve the carrots lengthways and chop into 3cm chunks. Place in a single layer on a large roasting tray or two, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle over ½ teaspoon of salt. Mix with your hands and roast for 40 minutes.
While the carrots are roasting, make the laksa paste. Place 6 tablespoons of oil in a small blender along with the onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, curry leaves, 1¼ teaspoons of salt, the chilli powder, curry powder and sugar and blend to a smooth paste. Scrape every last bit of the paste into a large pot, then rinse out the blender and keep to one side – you’ll need to use it again. Heat the paste in a large saucepan or pot over a medium heat for 12 minutes, stirring regularly, then add the soy sauce, coconut milk, roasted carrots, tofu puffs and 850ml of water.
Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes, then take a heaped ladleful of the carrots with some of the liquid and pop it into the blender. Blitz until smooth, then add back to the pot and stir. Turn the heat off and pop a lid on, while you cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.
To serve, distribute the noodles across four bowls, then ladle the laksa and carrots between the bowls. Place a small pile of pickled bean sprouts on top, along with a few Thai basil leaves.
Note: Most of the ingredients in this recipe go straight into a blender to create the laksa paste. You can buy tofu puffs in Chinese supermarkets and online (p 312 of Dinner). Laksa noodles (medium rice vermicelli) are difficult to source; when I can’t find them, I use wheat ramen noodles or rice sticks instead.
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