Mushroom Laksa Recipes

LAKSA

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper (we used white pepper, but you can also use black pepper), and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
• While the chicken is cooking, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large saucepan or medium pot over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Add the minced lemongrass and chilies, and cook for 3 minutes.
• Add the laksa paste and brown sugar. Fry for another 3 minutes, letting all the flavors meld together. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, and fish sauce. Bring to a boil. Add the soy puffs, cover, and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, rinse the noodles in warm water (for cooked hokkien noodles or rice vermicelli) or prepare according to package instructions (for fresh or dried wheat noodles). Distribute among four large noodle soup bowls.
• Shred the cooked chicken and skin and distribute among the bowls. Pour any juices from the roasting pan into the broth. (You can even use a little bit of warm water to scrape any lingering tasty bits off the parchment paper).
• Season the broth with lime juice and more fish sauce to taste, until your broth has reached your desired levels of saltiness/sourness. If you would rather not use fish sauce as your salting agent (it can be quite pungent to some palates), season with salt instead.
• Meanwhile, toss the thinly sliced shallots in flour until they're lightly coated. In a cast iron pan, heat an additional 2 tablespoons oil. Fry the shallots until crispy and set aside.
• Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and sear them in the same oil you used to cook the shallots, just until they're cooked through.
• To assemble the laksa, pour the broth over the noodles and chicken, and add a couple pieces of soy puff to each. Top with the cooked shrimp, bean sprouts, cilantro, and fried shallots. Serve with extra lime wedges, and enjoy!

MUSHROOM LAKSA

Steps:

• Place noodles into a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water. Set aside for 3 minutes until just tender. Drain.
• Heat a wok over high heat. Add 1 T of oil and swirl to coat the wok. Add mushrooms and stir fry for 3 minutes until light golden. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining oil and laksa paste. Stir fry for 2 minutes until oil separates from paste.
• Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Return the mushrooms to the wok. Add palm sugar and coconut milk. Stir until hot. Do not boil.
• Divide noodles between serving bowls. Ladle over soup. Top with bean sprouts, mint and coriander.

CHICKEN LAKSA

Steps:

• Put the chicken in a large saucepan with the coriander seeds, ginger, lemongrass, lime zest and a little salt. Add enough cold water to cover, slowly bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, gently poaching the chicken for 40 mins until it starts to fall away from the bone.
• Carefully lift the chicken onto a plate and cover with foil. Leave the stock to stand for 10 mins, skim off any excess fat and strain into a clean saucepan. Pull the chicken from the bones and tear into chunks.
• Bring the stock back to the boil, then add the fish sauce, soy, coconut milk, garlic, chillies and coriander stalks. Simmer for 2 mins, return the chicken to the pan and cook for a further 5 mins until warm. Add the spring onions and lime juice to taste.
• Divide the noodles between 6 bowls, then use a slotted spoon to lift the chicken and veg into each. Season the stock and pour over. Scatter with coriander and mint leaves, and serve with a drizzle of sesame oil, if you like.