Easy prawn laksa
- Published: 28 Feb 06
- Updated: 20 Nov 24
Laksa is a spicy paste made from garlic, lemongrass, chilli and almonds. Use it to make this exciting Asian noodle soup with a real kick.
- Serves 4
- Ready in 1 hour
Ingredients
- 20 raw prawns with shells and heads on
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 tbsp laksa paste (see below)
- 400ml can coconut milk
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
- 200g Chinese medium egg noodles
- ¼ cucumber, cut into thin strips
- Small bunch of fresh coriander
For the laksa paste
- 2 red chillies, deseeded if you like
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2.5cm piece ginger or galangal, roughly chopped
- 4 small shallots, roughly chopped
- 1 stick lemongrass, outer layer discarded, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce (nam pla)
- 50g ground almonds
Method
- Make the laksa paste by blitzing all the ingredients in a processor to a rough-textured paste. Set aside 3 tablespoons and keep the rest in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Remove the heads and shells from the prawns – leave the tail-shells on. Pop the heads and shells into a pan with 750ml cold water and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the stock into a jug, discarding the solids.
- Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over a medium heat. Add the prawns and fry for 2 minutes. Add the 3 tablespoons laksa paste and fry for 2 minutes more. Add the coconut milk, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce and shellfish stock and gently simmer.
- Blanch the noodles in boiling water for a few minutes, drain and divide between bowls. Top with the prawns and their soup, then garnish with the cucumber and coriander to serve.
- Recipe from March 2006 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 589kcals
- Fat
- 34.9g (2.3g saturated)
- Protein
- 27.7g
- Carbohydrates
- 43.4g (3.5g sugars)
- Salt
- 2.5g
delicious. tips
If you don’t want to make your own laksa paste, you can buy it from major supermarkets or use a good Thai curry paste instead.
Buy ingredients online
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