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Who doesn’t like a hot spicy bowl of coconut-y aromatic laksa noodles? It’s my topmost favourite local dish, and whenever I travel home from overseas, it’s the first dish that I’ll eat. And of course, it must be one of the recipes I have on my blog, be it the more traditional laksa soup commonly found in Singapore with thick rice noodles or the ang mo version Laksa Shrimp Pasta. For both versions, you just need to make this one version of the laksa paste.
Creating homemade laksa paste is very easy actually, just prepare all the aromatics and ingredients, put them into a food processor with some liquid and blend into a paste. That simple. And I always make a batch and keep it in the fridge and freezer so I can use it whenever I want. And since it’s homemade, you can use better and fresher ingredients, making it a cleaner healthier version than store bought pastes.
What is Laksa
Laksa is a complexly (and I meant it in a great way) flavourful spicy noodle soup that is deeply rooted in Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. This local dish is a testament to the region’s rich cultural diversity, blending culinary influences from local Chinese, Malay, and Indonesian communities.
How to make laksa paste
Laksa is typically made with a variety of ingredients, including thick (or sometimes thin) rice noodles, fresh coconut milk, spicy curry paste, lemongrass, ginger or galangal, chillies and a range of proteins such as prawns. The soup is usually garnished with fresh herbs such as laksa leaves or cilantro, elevating it with a fresh and aromatic flavour.
The ingredients are quite simple.
- Fresh chillies – I used the normal big fresh red chillies in this recipe. Optional to remove the seeds if you want it less spicy. If you want it more spicy, you can use the smaller super spicy chilli padi.
- Galangal (or blue ginger) – Typically used in Thai and Peranakan cuisines, galangal looks similarly to ginger but features a unique earthy, pungent, citrusy, drier, spicy flavour profile. Just try to smell it and you will notice the flavour difference from ginger.
- Lemongrass features a beautiful aroma that can be used in savoury and sweet dishes. Lemongrass is also known as citronella, its extracted oil can be used in medicinal forms. This plant is very hard. You got to remove the hard portion at the upper part of the plant, use a pestle or the back of the knife to crush and bruise it to release its aroma and essence.
- Kaffir lime leaves come from the kaffir lime tree. The leaves and fruits are typically used in Southeast Asian cuisine such as curries, meat stews (I loved this with braised pork belly!) or even cocktail drinks. You get a super intense citrus aroma that is difficult to replicate from any other types of limes.
- Turmeric powder or you can also use fresh turmeric. It’s a type of root vegetable that has a mildly spicy-sweet, earthy flavour profile. Turmeric has a very bright golden orange colour and you need to be careful when handling it on fair coloured kitchen tops or chopping boards, as the colours stain forever! Also don’t wear white when handling it.
- Aromatics such as shallots and garlic and dried shrimps add to the complexity of the aromas and flavours in the laksa paste.
Pin now, make laksa paste later
Homemade Laksa Paste
Ingredients
- 6 big fresh red chillies, washed
- 2 tbsp dried shrimps
- 4 cloves garlic
- 4 shallots
- 1 inch galangal (blue ginger)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 2-3 kaffir lime leaves, washed
Instructions
- Cut 6 big fresh red chillies into smaller pieces.Optional to remove the seeds if you prefer less spicy. Or use the smaller spicier chilli padi if you prefer more spicy.
- Soak 2 tbsp dried shrimps in water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the dried shrimps from water.Save the water for use later.
- Peel and mince 4 cloves garlic and 4 shallots.Peel and slice 1 inch galangal (blue ginger).
- Cut off the top one-third of 1 stalk lemongrass and the root portion. Use the back of the knife and bruise the lemongrass. Remove the outer layer of the lemongrass. Then chop the lemongrass into smaller pieces.
- Remove the stem from 2-3 kaffir lime leaves. And slice the leaves.
- Place all ingredients in a food processor, add 1 tsp turmeric powder.Add 2-4 tbsp of the dried shrimp water when blending to make it easier to blend.
- Blend all the ingredients until a smooth consistent paste is achieved. This should yield about 300g of laksa paste.
- Store in an airtight container and chill in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.If stored in a freezer, you can store up to 3 months.
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