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1
Blend the Laksa Paste
15 Mins
Soaking water, 100°C (212°F)
Soak the dried chillies and candlenuts in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain. Toast the belacan in a dry pan for 1 minute until fragrant, and toast the sesame and coriander seeds for 1 minute. Blend everything with the shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, peanuts, tamarind, cumin, star anise, cloves, cardamom, sugar and salt into a thick, dark-red paste, adding a splash of water if the blender stalls.
Toast the belacan — raw belacan is harsh, toasted belacan is deep and savoury.
Done when: A smooth, thick, dark-red paste that smells of chilli, lemongrass and toasted shrimp paste.
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2
Poach the Chicken
15 Mins
Gentle simmer, about 95°C (203°F)
Bring the stock and water to a gentle simmer in a large pot. Slide in the chicken breasts and poach for 12 minutes until they read at least 74°C (165°F) at the thickest part. Lift them out, rest for 5 minutes, then shred by hand. Keep the poaching liquid — it is your broth.
Poach, never boil hard — a rolling boil makes the chicken stringy and clouds the broth.
Done when: Chicken reads at least 74°C (165°F) and shreds into moist strips.
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3
Fry the Paste and Build the Broth
20 Mins
Frying, about 160°C (320°F); simmer, about 95°C (203°F)
Heat the oil in the pot over medium heat, add all the laksa paste and fry for 8 minutes, stirring, until it darkens, smells fragrant and the oil separates at the edges. Pour in the poaching liquid and the coconut milk, bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt, sugar or lime — the broth should be spicy, a little sour and a little sweet all at once.
Frying the paste properly is the whole dish — a pale, under-fried paste tastes raw and flat.
Done when: Broth is brick-red, fragrant and lightly thickened; oil glistens at the edges.
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4
Cook the Noodles and Prawns
10 Mins
Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
Cook the vermicelli in a separate pot of boiling water for 3 minutes, then drain. Drop the prawns into the simmering laksa broth and cook for 3 minutes until pink, opaque and curled, reading at least 63°C (145°F).
Cook the noodles separately — cooking them in the broth would drink it all up and turn it starchy.
Done when: Noodles are tender but not mushy; prawns are pink, opaque and curled.
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5
Make the Omelette Strips
10 Mins
Medium heat, about 160°C (320°F)
Beat the eggs with a pinch of salt. Heat a lightly oiled pan over medium heat, pour in a thin layer of egg and cook for 1 minute until just set, then flip for 30 seconds. Slide out, roll up and slice into thin strips. Repeat with the remaining egg.
Keep the omelette thin and pale — browned egg tastes bitter in the bowl.
Done when: Thin, pale-gold omelette sheets, sliced into neat strips.
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6
Assemble the Bowls
10 Mins
Serving broth, about 95°C (203°F)
Divide the noodles between 4 deep bowls. Top with the shredded chicken, prawns, omelette strips and bean sprouts, then ladle over the steaming broth. Scatter with coriander and spring onions and serve at once with lime wedges and a small dish of sambal belacan on the side.
Ladle the broth last and serve immediately — the noodles keep drinking it up.
Done when: Bowls are steaming, the broth covers the noodles, and every topping is visible on top.
Malaysia
1h 10m
