Seafood laksa

Seafood laksa recipe

More than just a noodle soup, laksa is an experience. With its creamy coconut broth laden with slippery rice noodles and freshly poached seafood, this Malaysian classic is as satisfying to cook as it is to eat. Also known as seafood curry laksa, the secret to this recipe is making your own paste. While supermarket paste is available, it’s not until you make your own that the full flavour of the dish really opens up. Sweet from the sugar, sour from the lime and, of course, salty from the fish sauce, this richly flavoured masterpiece is topped with cool cucumber and fresh mint, and finished with crispy fried shallots. While traditionally eaten for breakfast or lunch, our laksa is worthy of being a dinner party star. 

How do I make the best paste for this fish laksa recipe?

While the laksa paste has a few ingredients, the food processor does all the work. Traditionally, laksa paste uses candlenuts to provide body and texture. With a mild taste and almost waxy consistency, candlenuts look a lot like macadamias, which can be used in their place. Make sure you give your coriander roots a good scrub before adding to the food processor, as they sometimes have a bit of soil trapped in the lower stems. Galangal is a rhizome that belongs to the ginger family. Look for young, fresh galangal as it tends to dry out as it ages, making it difficult to grate. If unavailable, you can swap it for fresh ginger. Always check that your spices are not out of date before adding them to a recipe, as they tend to lose their pungency if they’ve been stored in your pantry for too long. If your spice paste isn’t blending smoothly, add a dash of water to help it along. Never use oil, as this makes the paste gluggy. To avoid the turmeric staining the bowl of your food processor, if processed with the other ingredients, add the turmeric to the saucepan with the paste instead. 

What is the best seafood to use in a fish laksa?

We use a combination of prawns and squid in our laksa. The prawns can be bought already peeled, either fresh or frozen, from the seafood section at Coles. So too can the squid – simply slice it into rings. You can also use mussels, clams or scallops in this laksa seafood. We suggest using firm white fish fillets. These are a popular choice, as they don’t have as strong a flavour as other fish (such as salmon) and instead take on the already intense flavour of the soup. These fillets also hold up well when simmered. Examples of firm white fish fillets include barramundi, snapper, flathead and ling. The fish, too, can be bought fresh or frozen. We recommend cutting the fish into 3cm pieces – this is so it cooks at the same time as the other seafood. Four-to-five minutes cooking is all the fish will need. In this time, the prawns will have turned pink and curled, and the fish and squid will be just tender.

Tips for making seafood laksa soup

• Make sure you fry your curry paste until it is aromatic. The onion and garlic in the paste need to be cooked enough so they don’t taste raw in the final dish. This paste then needs to be simmered in the stock and coconut milk to allow the flavours to impart into the broth. 

• If fish stock is unavailable, you can use a light chicken stock or, better still, make up a batch of our easy fish stock and store in the freezer. 

• While the broth simmers, place the noodles in a heatproof bowl and cover with plenty of boiling water. Use chopsticks or a fork to separate the strands as they soak. 

• You’ll know the laksa has been simmered for long enough when a layer of chilli-flecked oil rises to the surface. 

Love this recipe?

Seafood laksa is only one of many amazing South-East Asian soups. Another classic is tom kha gai, a Thai-style coconut chicken soup. Thailand is also known for its famous clear soup prawn tom yum. Or why not try this chicken tom yum and our vegan version, tom yum soup with tempeh. Another classic South-East Asian soup worth cooking is the Vietnamese favourite chicken pho.