Coconut Chicken Laksa
This deliciously fresh and spicy laksa recipe should come with a warning – once tasted you will crave it all the time and your family and friends will be asking you to make it again and again!
You can make a larger batch of the laksa paste and keep it in the fridge for up to 10 days or freeze in portion sizes for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
Laksa Paste:
- 2-4 red chillies
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 stalks lemongrass , peeled
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tsp turmeric , fresh or ground
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
Laksa Soup:
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 500 ml chicken bone broth , or stock
- 500 g organic chicken thighs , sliced into strips
- 250 g rice, shirataki or kelp noodles
- 400 ml coconut milk or cream
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 cup snow peas , or sugar snap peas
- 1 small Lebanese cucumber , halved lengthways and sliced
- 1 cup beam sprouts
- 1/2 cup coriander leaves
- 1/2 cup basil &/or mint leaves
- 2 green shallots , finely sliced
- 1 red chilli , finely chopped, for serving
- 1 lime , cut into wedges, for serving
Instructions
- First make the laksa paste by blending all of the ingredients in a food processor or pounding them in a mortar and pestle until smooth. Add more or less chilli according to your taste.
- Heat the coconut oil in a large pan over a medium heat, add paste and stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
- Pour in the stock or broth, bring to a simmer, add the chicken thighs and noodles. Cook for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Add the coconut cream or milk, lime juice, coconut sugar, fish sauce and snow peas. Simmer gently for a further 5 minutes.
- Stir through the cucumber and bean sprouts and then taste the broth. It should be a lovely balance of spicy, salty, sweet and pungent. Adjust if necessary by adding more chilli, fish sauce, coconut sugar or lime juice.
- Divide the soup between 4 bowls and top with herbs and shallots. Serve with chopped chilli and lime wedges for everyone to help themselves.
Notes
This recipe is equally delicious with wild-caught fish or prawns instead of the chicken.