Why It Works
- Fresh, dried, and paste versions of chiles, turmeric, and shrimp combine to create a layered, complex flavor.
- Frying the prawn heads in oil results in a rich, savory, shellfish-forward broth.
When people think of Southeast Asian noodle soups, there’s one that immediately comes to mind: Curry laksa, a dish of rice noodles in a creamy, fragrant broth that’s brilliant ochre in color, warm with chiles and spices, and accompanied by a variety of toppings, such as shrimp, fish cakes, bean sprouts, and tofu puffs. On menus of Malaysian or Southeast Asian eateries, curry laksa is also often referred to as “Nyonya laksa,” “curry mee,” “laksa lemak,” or any permutation of those words. It’s a popular dish served at roadside hawker stalls, food courts, and even school canteens, and is so beloved that there’s even an entire festival dedicated to laksa in Darwin, Australia, where there’s a healthy population of Malaysian and Southeast Asian immigrants.
But what is “laksa”? The origins of the dish and etymological roots of the term are murky, though if you ask the average Malaysian, they’ll likely reply with “noodles in a spicy broth.” And if you look at the variety of laksa in Malaysia alone, they’d be right. On the west peninsular coast of Malaysia, curry-hued broths ranging from deep red to bright gold reign supreme. Southern-style Johor laksa consists of a thick, chunky Bolognese-like sauce of fish served over spaghetti with sambal belacan, and is typically eaten with one’s hands. Then there’s the complex and intensely spicy Sarawak laksa, which has a foot-long laundry list of spices and aromatics to flavor the curry-esque soup filled with thin rice noodles, prawns, shredded chicken, and sliced omelet. There’s also the famous Penang-style asam laksa, a spicy, sour fish noodle soup.
Debbie Teoh, a renowned Malaysian Nyonya chef, notes that each part of the country’s laksa showcases which ingredients are most abundant in each region. These days, “properly made” laksa is not the frugal peasant dish it once was, as prices of raw ingredients have increased significantly, and people don’t have as much time to prepare everything by hand. “Laksa is a luxury now!” laments Teoh.
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My curry laksa recipe below draws heavily from Malacca-style Nyonya laksa. Unlike other Malaysian laksa, which use fish stock as a base for the dish, Malacca-style Nyonya laksa is made with a hearty shrimp stock. It also has Vietnamese mint (locally referred to as “laksa leaf” or its Malay name “daun kesum”), a grassy and bright herb ubiquitous in almost all laksa types.
Along with the shrimp stock, Nyonya laksa also features an aromatic base of shallots and galangal and is thickened with coconut milk. However, the “curry” part of the name—the addition of ground warming spices like coriander, cumin, fennel, and the like—is where I and most other cooks diverge from Nyonya laksa. “The moment any of these ‘curry’ spices get added, it’s no longer ‘Nyonya laksa’,” says Teoh. Pedantic cooks, rejoice, for we have a loose definition: Unlike Nyonya laksa, “curry laksa” is a spicy noodle soup that contains spices. With this definition in mind, I went in search of the Platonic ideal of “curry laksa.”
Mandy Yin, chef and founder at the popular London restaurant Sambal Shiok Laksa Bar, says that she wants laksa to be as globally popular as pad Thai and pho. “I think it’s heading in that direction,” says Yin, who started selling laksa to Londoners about 10 years ago. She has since seen at least three laksa-focused restaurants open in central London. (Speaking of school canteens, she coincidentally went to the same elementary school in a Kuala Lumpur suburb at the same time as I did, and we both waxed lyrical about the curry laksa that was available during recess for RM1.30—about 30 cents USD—back in the mid-90s. To know that I shared an exact taste memory as Yin gave me a lot of courage to plow forward.)
The ingredient list for any laksa can be as long as one’s arm. To make the dish feel less intimidating, it helps to think of it in three parts: the “tumis” or spice paste; the broth; and the assembly of the final dish, which includes protein and vegetable toppings. If you look at the ingredients list, you’ll notice several versions of the same ingredient: I call for dried shrimp, shrimp paste, and fresh shrimp, as well as dried chile, chile powder, and fresh chiles. It may be excessive, but I really do think including different versions of the same ingredient in the laksa gives it a much more well-rounded and complex flavor than if I had just used one version of each ingredient. The shrimp shows up in the spice paste, the broth, and the toppings, fully expressing the brininess and sweetness of the shellfish.
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Getting the Spice Paste Right
The base for almost every Malaysian dish contains some combination of shallots, garlic, chiles, ginger, galangal, fresh turmeric, and lemongrass. The base for this laksa spice paste includes everything on that list, ramping the flavor and aroma up to 11. The curry powder portion is directly lifted from the spice mix I developed for this fish head curry, though you could of course substitute with your favorite store-bought curry powder. For the most aromatic spice paste, I toast the spices, which enhances their sweet, savory, and smoky notes. I highly recommend making this paste in bulk and freezing it in portions for future batches of laksa, or to use as a base for stir-fries: Cook your aromatics, such as garlic, scallions, onion, and/or ginger with the spice paste, then proceed as usual. (Laksa fried rice, anyone?)
How to Make a Bold, Flavorful Broth for Curry Laksa
While most laksa recipes call for simply boiling the shrimp heads and shells with water, I preceded this step with a technique borrowed from another famous noodle dish: Penang-style Hokkien prawn mee. I first fry the shrimp heads and shells in oil along with the Vietnamese mint leaves, before adding water to the pot. This extracts maximum flavor from the shrimp heads, and the bright red shrimp-flavored oil adds an almost indescribable richness to the final dish.
If you can’t source Vietnamese mint leaves, do as Yin does and substitute a combination of cilantro and mint, which will do in a pinch. Coconut milk adds a smooth, lip-smacking quality to the broth, while also tying all the flavors of the aromatics and the shrimp together. The soup should ideally be thick; think tsukemen-style ramen, where noodles are dipped into an almost overpoweringly flavorful broth. Curry laksa dials that back a notch—you can still drink the broth, but you want the broth to be thick enough to almost cling to the noodles.
The Best Add-Ins to Use
Chewy yellow noodles (called “alkaline noodles”), white rice vermicelli noodles, or a combination of both are standard. The protein and vegetable toppings called for in this recipe are also common, though you can personalize them to your taste. Shredded poached chicken, fresh cockles, roast pork, and fried sliced tempeh are perfectly delicious protein options, and blanched bok choy, grilled eggplant slices, and even fresh edamame can be included for vegetables. If you only have a small amount of fresh Vietnamese mint leaves on hand, use them here as a topping, so their earthy zing is the first thing that hits your senses.
Curry laksa is no simple feat: The ingredients list and process of making it are both long. But the reward is a broth so rich and layered—and the meal so comforting—that every minute spent cooking is worth it. It’s messy, it’s slurpable, and deeply satisfying, and once you’ve tried it, you’ll understand why the dish has so many devotees across Southeast Asia.
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The Southeast Asian Noodle Dish That Should Be as Big as Pho and Pad Thai
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For the Laksa Paste:
10 whole dried Kashmiri chiles (11 g), stemmed
1/4 cup small dried shrimp (3/4 ounce; 22 g)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon whole white peppercorns
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
10 to 12 small Asian shallots (3 1/2 ounces; 100 g), peeled and roughly chopped (see notes)
5 medium cloves garlic (about 1 ounce; 25 g), peeled and smashed
1 ounce (30 g) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 ounce (30 g) fresh galangal, peeled and thinly sliced
One 1-inch piece fresh turmeric (10 g), peeled and thinly sliced
2 mild red chiles (1 1/2 ounces; 40 g), such as Fresnos, stemmed and roughly chopped
1/2 tablespoon (5 g) belacan (Malaysian-style fermented shrimp paste) or terasi (Indonesian-style fermented shrimp paste)
5 candlenuts or macadamia nuts (about 3/4 ounce; 18 g)
4 lemongrass stalks, pale white parts only, thinly sliced (about 1 1/2 ounces; 40 g)
3/4 cup (180 ml) neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola, divided
For the Broth:
1 pound (454 g) large shrimp, head-on
2 tablespoons (30 ml) neutral oil
1/2 cup (25 g) Vietnamese mint leaves
4 cups (946 ml) water
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk, plus more as needed
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste; for table salt, use half as much by volume
2 teaspoons light brown or dark palm sugar, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon (15 ml) tamarind concentrate, such as Tamicon (see notes)
12 soy puffs (8 1/4 ounces; 231 g), halved (see notes)
To Assemble:
3 1/2 ounces bean sprouts (100 g; 2 cups), blanched
5 1/4 ounces (155 g) long beans, blanched
Peeled shrimp, see above
5 ounces (141 g) rice vermicelli (see notes)
2 large boiled eggs, peeled and halved
1 English cucumber (7 ounces; 200 g), peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced crosswise
Vietnamese mint leaves, thinly sliced
4 calamansi limes, halved crosswise
Sambal tumis, sambal oelek, or preferred chile oil, paste, or crisp
For the Spice Paste: Using scissors or kitchen shears, cut dried chiles diagonally into 1/4-inch strips. Using your hands, massage strips gently to release as many seeds as possible into a bowl.
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Transfer chile strips without the seeds to another bowl and add the dried shrimp. Cover chile strips and dried shrimp with enough warm water to cover, about 1 cup. Let sit until soft and rehydrated, about 15 minutes.
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In a 10-inch nonstick or stainless skillet set over medium heat, toast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, and white peppercorns until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and immediately transfer toasted spices to a mortar or spice grinder. Let cool for 1 minute, then pound or grind spices until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in chile powder and turmeric; set aside.
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In a blender or food processor, combine shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric root, red chiles, candlenuts, lemongrass, shrimp paste, and the soaked chile strips and rehydrated dried shrimp. Add 1/2 cup soaking liquid and 1/4 cup oil. Blend until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.
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In the same skillet used for toasting the spices earlier, heat remaining 1/4 cup oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add spice paste and ground spices, reduce heat to low, and cook, stirring occasionally, until color deepens to a dark red and oil separates, about 35 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
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For the Broth: Remove the heads and shells from shrimp; set aside. Place shrimp meat in a medium bowl and refrigerate until ready to use. In a 5-quart pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add shrimp heads and shells to pot and fry until shells turn bright pink, 3 to 5 minutes, using a spatula or wooden spoon to press the heads to extract all the juices. Add the Vietnamese mint and fry until slightly darkened and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes, then add 4 cups water.
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Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low and simmer until fragrant, about 30 minutes. Turn off heat. Using a fine-mesh sieve, strain stock into a large bowl, gently pressing on shells to extract as much liquid as possible. Rinse pot of any stray shells and place pot back on stove.
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Pour strained stock back into the pot, and add cooked spice paste, coconut milk, salt, sugar, and tamarind concentrate, and stir until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then reduce heat to medium-low. Gently simmer until flavors meld, about 20 minutes. Season to taste with additional coconut milk, salt, sugar, or tamarind concentrate as needed. Add halved soy puffs and cook until soy puffs have absorbed broth, about 10 minutes.
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To Assemble: While broth is simmering, prepare laksa components. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch bean sprouts until tender, about 1 minute; use tongs or a slotted spoon to remove sprouts and set aside in separate bowls. Return water to a boil and blanch long beans until tender, about 5 minutes; use tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside. Blanch shrimp until pink and tender, 2 to 3 minutes; use tongs or a slotted spoon and set aside. Using the same pot, blanch or cook rice noodles until tender and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Using a colander, drain noodles.
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Divide noodles and broth equally among 4 bowls; each bowl should have about 4 ounces noodles and about 1 cup broth. Top each bowl with shrimp, bean sprouts, long beans, cucumbers, Vietnamese mint leaves, and half a boiled egg. Serve with calamansi lime halves and sambal.
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Special Equipment
Blender or food processor, fine-mesh sieve
Notes
This recipe can easily be doubled (or tripled) if desired.
Fresh galangal and fresh turmeric can be found in South Asian and Southeast Asian grocery stores. Fresh turmeric gives an almost medicinal scent when fresh, and both rhizomes keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months. If unavailable, omit entirely (i.e., do not use dried turmeric powder).
Vietnamese mint is available at Southeast Asian grocery stores, and is also (confusingly) called “Vietnamese coriander,” “Cambodian mint,” “phak phai,” or “laksa leaf.” It wilts relatively quickly on the counter, so put it in the fridge as soon as you get it home from the market.
This recipe was tested with boxed coconut milk, which comes in a variety of sizes. If using canned, stir the coconut cream and coconut milk together before measuring.
Soy (tofu) puffs are available at Asian markets. Different brands sell different amounts, estimate about 2-3 soy puffs per person (4-6 pieces when halved) https://www.sayweee.com/en/grocery-near-me/lang-en/explore/fried-tofu-puff
You can use alkaline noodles such as lo mein, or rice noodles such as rehydrated dried vermicelli, or fresh kway teow, or any ratio in any combination that is easy for you to procure.
Make-Ahead and Storage
The spice paste can be made in bulk and frozen in portions for up to 3 months in well-sealed zipper-lock bags.
The prepared broth, noodles, and toppings keep in the fridge 2-3 days in separate airtight containers.
