laksa

Adam Liaw’s prawn laksa lemak combines a coconut-milk soup with Hokkien noodles, rice vermicelli, prawns, tofu puffs and eggs. His recipe makes its own rempah, prawn stock, prawn oil and chilli sambal rather than relying on one prepared laksa paste.

Prawns are peeled, with their heads and shells divided between stock and oil preparations. The stock is simmered and strained; the remaining shells fry in oil, with optional tomato paste for colour, before the oil is strained.

Dried and fresh chillies, belacan, the selected shallot or onion, garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric, lemongrass, coriander and a nut choice form the rempah. Half the batch fries until its oil separates, then meets prawn stock and coconut milk in the soup.

Tofu puffs simmer in the seasoned soup before the prawns cook briefly and are set aside. Noodles, fish cakes, bean sprouts and eggs are prepared separately while the soup cooks.

For serving, noodles, sprouts, egg and prawns go into a warmed bowl with the soup. Vietnamese mint, cucumber and a spoonful of the separately cooked chilli sambal finish each portion.