Chicken Laksa Soup Recipe

October 19th, 2011

Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup from the Asian culture. There are two basic types of laksa, curry and asam. Curry is a coconut soup with noodles and asam is a sour fish soup with noodles.

This recipe is curry laksa as it uses coconut cream and coconut milk. Coconut is widely popular for its health benefits and even known to promote youth and longevity. Coconut is rich in protein and its meat is actually good in destroying intestinal parasites which we normally get from eating infected food. Coconut water, on the other hand, is an excellent agent in promoting healthy kidneys and urinary bladder.

Coconut is also a miracle worker in preventing simple goiter problems due to its organic iodine content. It also builds up body muscles, its oil promotes faster healing of cuts, wounds and scratches, relieves stomach ulcers and is an excellent source of Vitamin E which helps delay or prevent coronary heart diseases, a bevy of other illnesses and which promotes cell regeneration (which delays ageing!).

Now, let us move on to our Chicken Laksa Recipe and get cooking!

For this authentic Laksa recipe, we will need the following ingredients:

1 tbs palm sugar
125ml can coconut cream
1/2 cup Vietnamese mint leaves
2 tbs lime juice
3 cups (750ml) chicken stock
400ml can coconut milk
4 kaffir lime leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
2 (about 400g) chicken breast fillets, thinly sliced
· Sambal oelek and lime wedges, to serve
· 2 cups (110g) bean sprouts
· 100g mung bean vermicelli noodles

Laksa Paste:

1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, finely chopped
2cm piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped
1/4 cup Vietnamese mint leaves
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 cup (45g) candle or macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped
1/2 brown onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
2 dried chillies
2 tsp shrimp paste
1/2 tsp ground fennel

Method

1. To make the laksa paste, place the dried chillies in a small heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and set aside for 15 minutes to soften. Drain and coarsely chop. In a food processor, place inions, ginger, garlic, lemon grass, shrimp paste, nuts, paprika, turmeric, coriander, fennel, cumin and cinnamon. Process until finely chopped and well combined.

2. Over high heat, place a saucepan then add the laksa paste and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes or until aromatic. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk and cream and 3 of the kaffir lime leaves. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Add the sugar and lime juice and stir to combine.

3. Place the noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes to soak. Drain well.

4. Finely shred the remaining lime leaf. It is best to serve in individual bowls topped with bean sprouts, coriander, mint and kaffir lime leaf. Serve immediately with sambal oelek and lime wedges.