From The Sambal Shiok cookbook by Mandy Yin.

This is the perfect, warming meal when it's cold and bleak outside and you're seeking comfort in a bowl. It may seem complex, with multiple steps, but is deceptively easy, and results in a deeply flavorful noodle soup.

Ingredients

For the chicken stock (if making yourself)

chicken 1 carcass or 1kg wings
star anise 1
ginger 5cm, peeled and sliced lengthways
spring onions 3
small onion 1, quartered
garlic 2 cloves

For the spice paste:

vegetable oil 80g
medium onion 1 (300g), peeled and roughly chopped
ginger 8cm piece, peeled and roughly chopped
garlic 8 cloves, peeled
fresh red chillies 3, stalks removed, roughly chopped
dried chillies 15, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained before using
ground cumin 1½ tbsp
ground turmeric 1½ tbsp
ground coriander 3 tbsp
chilli powder 3 tbsp
shrimp paste 50g (the Malaysian/Indonesian blocks of it are best, otherwise use Thai gapi paste)

For the laksa soup:

chicken stock 1½ litres (shop-bought, or see above)
coconut milk 2 x 400g tins (Chaokoh brand ideally)
salt 2 tbsp (or less to taste)
good quality palm sugar 90g (or dark brown sugar)
tamarind paste 3 tbsp
Vietnamese coriander 50g (or normal coriander)
lemongrass 2 stems, pounded with a pestle to release juices
deep fried tofu puffs 12, cut into half

For the toppings:

beansprouts 120g
green beans 120g, cut into 5cm lengths
chicken breast fillets 2
fresh egg noodles 400g
medium-sized eggs 6, soft boiled by simmering for 6½ minutes before being shocked in ice water, peeled and sliced in half
Vietnamese coriander 50g, finely sliced for garnish (or normal coriander)

Methods

For the chicken stock, if making it yourself, put 2 litres of water into a large pot with the carcass or wings, star anise, ginger, spring onions, onion and garlic. Bring to the boil, skimming off any residue, and then simmer on a low heat for 90 minutes.
Blend all of the spice paste ingredients in a food processor until it achieves the consistency of a smooth fine paste. In a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-low heat, cook the spice paste, continuously stirring for 20 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 soup.
Fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Use a saucepan with a lid, as the lid will be used later in the recipe.
Add the laksa soup ingredients except the tofu puffs to another large saucepan with the fried spice paste. Bring to the boil then simmer gently for 30 minutes. Turn off heat, then remove the Vietnamese coriander and lemongrass, and adjust seasoning (salt and sugar) to taste. Then add the tofu puffs to the soup so that they soak up the flavour for 10 minutes.
While the laksa soup is simmering, blanch the following in the pan of boiling water one after the other: beansprouts for 30 seconds and green beans for 3 minutes. Refresh them in ice-cold water immediately after taking out of the boiling water and drain.
Place the chicken breasts into the water used to blanch the vegetables and bring back up to the boil – top up the water if necessary so that it covers the breasts. Simmer with a lid on for 20 minutes, then take them out. Once cool enough to handle, shred the chicken breasts.
Blanch each portion of egg noodles for 5 seconds before putting into separate bowls. This is best done using noodle baskets for ease.
Portion everything out into bowls ready for serving on top of the noodles - the beansprouts, green beans and shredded chicken. Pour the hot laksa soup into each of the bowls with 4 halved tofu puffs per serving. Add the soft-boiled egg halves and finish with the sliced coriander.

This Recipe Features

Mandy's Malaysian Chicken Laksa

Serves

6 people

Difficulty

Beginner