King prawn Nyonya curry laksa

Name: King prawn Nyonya curry laksa
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Ingredients: 80g of vegetable oil; 300g of onion, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 knob of ginger, approx. 7.5cm in length, peeled and roughly chopped; 8 garlic cloves, peeled; 3 red chillies, stalks removed, roughly chopped; 15 dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes before using; 1 1/2 tbsp of ground cumin; 1 1/2 tbsp of ground turmeric; 3 tbsp of ground coriander; 3 tbsp of chilli powder; 50g of shrimp paste, (the Malaysian/Indonesian blocks of shrimp paste are best, otherwise use Thai gapi shrimp paste); 2l water; 1 chicken carcass; 1 star anise; 1 knob of ginger, 5cm long, peeled and roughly sliced; 3 spring onions; 1 small onion, quartered; 2 garlic cloves; 1.5l chicken stock, preferably homemade (see above); 800g of coconut milk; 90g of palm sugar, or dark brown sugar; 2 tbsp of salt, or less to taste; 3 tbsp of tamarind paste; 50g of hot mint, also known as laksa leaves, or coriander; 2 lemongrass stalks, pounded with a pestle to release the juices; 24 king prawns, raw, shelled, deveined and cooked in boiling water for 2 minutes; 12 deep-fried tofu puffs, halved; 120g of green beans, cut into 5cm pieces; 120g of beansprouts; 400g of fresh egg noodles

by Mandy Yin

Item 1 of 1

Main
medium
6
1 hour 20 minutes

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This is the curry laksa that made Mandy Yin's Sambal Shiok one of the hottest tickets in London. As far as comfort food goes, it ticks all the boxes – it's warm, rich and hearty with a good kick of chilli and a healthy helping of noodles, prawns, tofu puffs and beans. Making your own chicken broth will really boost the flavour of the final dish, but the foundation is the laksa paste. We recommend making a big batch and then freezing in portions – you never know when you might come home to a laksa craving.

First published in 2019

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This is my curry laksa, with a strong chilli and shrimp kick. We tend to save cooking laksa for special occasions due to its time-consuming method and many ingredients, especially if cooking the chicken stock from scratch. If you can find them, laksa leaves (also known as rau ram or hot mint (Polygonum Odoratum)) adds a distinctive fragrance to the dish and takes me back to my childhood growing up in a Nyonya household. Like any good curry, the broth develops in flavour if left overnight.

Ingredients

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Imperial

Laksa spice paste

80g of vegetable oil
300g of onion, peeled and roughly chopped
1 knob of ginger, approx. 7.5cm in length, peeled and roughly chopped
8 garlic cloves, peeled
3 red chillies, stalks removed, roughly chopped
15 dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes before using
1 1/2 tbsp of ground cumin
1 1/2 tbsp of ground turmeric
3 tbsp of ground coriander
3 tbsp of chilli powder
50g of shrimp paste, (the Malaysian/Indonesian blocks of shrimp paste are best, otherwise use Thai gapi shrimp paste)

Homemade chicken stock

2l water
1 chicken carcass
1 star anise
1 knob of ginger, 5cm long, peeled and roughly sliced
3 spring onions
1 small onion, quartered
2 garlic cloves

Laksa broth

1.5l chicken stock, preferably homemade (see above)
800g of coconut milk
90g of palm sugar, or dark brown sugar
2 tbsp of salt, or less to taste
3 tbsp of tamarind paste
50g of hot mint, also known as laksa leaves, or coriander
2 lemongrass stalks, pounded with a pestle to release the juices

Toppings

24 king prawns, raw, shelled, deveined and cooked in boiling water for 2 minutes
12 deep-fried tofu puffs, halved
120g of green beans, cut into 5cm pieces
120g of beansprouts
400g of fresh egg noodles
3 medium eggs, simmered in water for 6 minutes 25 seconds then cooled in ice water, peeled and halved
50g of hot mint, also known as laksa leaves, or coriander, finely sliced

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Equipment

Food processor

Method

To make the laksa paste, blend all of the ingredients in a food processor until they form the consistency of a smooth, fine paste

In a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add a dash of oil and the spice paste, continuously stirring for 30 minutes, until it is a rich dark red/brown colour and the oil separates from the paste. Ideally, leave for at least 24 hours in the fridge for the fried paste to develop maximum flavour before using it to make the broth

If making your own chicken stock, add all of the ingredients to a large pan and bring to the boil, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface. Simmer on a low heat for 90 minutes before straining (you will need 1.5l of stock to make the broth)

Add the laksa broth ingredients to a large saucepan with the fried spice paste. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes, remove the hot mint (or coriander) and the lemongrass, and adjust the seasoning with salt and sugar to taste

Add the tofu puffs to the broth so that they soak up the flavour for 10 minutes

While the laksa broth is simmering, blanch the following in boiling water one after the other: the beansprouts for 30 seconds, the green beans for 3 minutes and the prawns for 90 seconds. Refresh each ingredient in iced water to halt the cooking process, then drain

Blanch each portion of egg noodles in boiling water for 10 seconds before dividing between 6 bowls

Top the noodles with the beansprouts, green beans and prawns, then pour the hot laksa broth into each of the bowls with 4 halved tofu puffs per serving. Finish with a pinch of the shredded hot mint on top and half a soft-boiled egg.

First published in 2019

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Mandy Yin

As founder and head chef of Sambal Shiok in London, Mandy Yin is at the forefront of modern Malaysian cooking.

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