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w/ Pickled Salad
Serves: 4
Cooking time ~30 minutes
A Laksa is a South-East Asian soup served with Rice Noodles. The version I've made is served with Prawns and Pulled Chicken. You can turn up the heat by adding more Chilli if you're feeling brave! You can buy your own Laksa paste which would make this an incredibly easy dish, but it's so quick and simple to make your own.
Ingredients:
300g Rice Noodles
800ml Coconut Milk
700ml Chicken Stock
300g Cooked King Prawns
2x Chicken Breasts
150g Beansprouts
½ Cucumber
1 Large Carrot
Fresh Coriander
Laksa Paste (see below)
For the Laksa Paste:
1 Large Red Chilli
1x White Onion
4x Garlic Cloves
Chunk of Fresh Ginger
3x Lemongrass Stalks
1 Small Handful of Cashew Nuts
1tsp Ground Coriander
1tsp Cumin
1tsp Turmeric
1tsp Paprika
4tbsp Fish Sauce
1tbsp Vegetable Oil
Method:
For the Garnish, we're going to peel the Carrot and scoop the inside watery stuff from the Cucumber. Chop them both into really thin matchsticks. We'll pickle these slightly so just add them to a bowl and add equal parts Sugar and Salt (a good couple of tablespoons each) and then cover with a splash of any Vinegar you have - White Wine Vinegar is best. Mix well and cover with cling film.
Next, we'll do the Chicken so we have some time for it to cool slightly. We're going to poach it - this is the easiest and quickest way to Pulled Chicken. Add your Chicken Breasts to a pan, season generously with Salt and Pepper and cover with boiling water. Let it come to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 8-10 mins while you make the Laksa paste.
Dry fry your Spices (Coriander, Cumin, Turmeric and Paprika) in a pan until they start to smell amazing. Careful not to burn them, a couple of minutes should be fine. Leave this to set aside.
Add your Onion, Garlic, Ginger, Chilli (with or without seeds), Fish Sauce, Lemongrass and Cashews to a blender. Blitz until smooth, adding the Oil to loosen it a little. It should look like this:
When the time is up, just make sure the Chicken is cooked all the way through and then set aside.
Use two forks to pull the Chicken apart and shred totally. Add a touch of all the dry spices we used earlier along with a glug of Soy Sauce to keep it moist. Set aside - we may have to heat this through again a bit later in a pan, just make a judgement call later.
The cooking process from here on is really simple. Add your Paste to a big pot with a splash of the Coconut Milk and cook off for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time.
Add the rest of the Coconut Milk and Chicken Stock and cook off for about 5-10 minutes. It should thicken up a touch but remember this is a Soup so it should still be quite liquid-y. Season to taste.
Cook your Rice Noodles as per packet instructions. As they're cooking, drop the Beansprouts and Prawns into the Laksa and heat through.
To plate up, add some of the Noodles to a bowl. Place some of the Pulled Chicken on top. Pour the Laksa around that, making sure you get the Prawns and Beansprouts. Top with Fresh Coriander and some of the Pickled Salad.
Enjoy! If you fancy sharing your effort, please tag @wellgoodgrub on Instagram.