Vegan laksa is a plant based take on this classic Malaysian dish. It's full of depth of flavour, warming, comforting and filling and naturally gluten-free too.
Recipe by Ania on January 19, 2019
Prep time: PT20M
Cook time: PT60M
Rating
4.96 stars (55 reviews)
Keywords
Asian-inspired,comfort food,gluten-free,tofu
Ingredients
3 medium shallots, sliced roughly
4 garlic cloves
2 lemongrass stalks, white part chopped (but keep the rest)
about 40 g / 1.5 oz ginger or galangal, sliced roughly
4 fresh red chillis or dried Thai chillis soaked in boiling water (adjust to your level of heat tolerance)
1 tbsp ground (approx. 1 sheet) nori (toasted seaweed used for sushi), torn into bits**
2 tbsp neutral tasting oil (I used rice bran oil)
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander or 2 tsp coriander seeds (toasted and ground)
½ tsp ground cumin or 1 tsp cumin seeds (toasted and ground)
1 tsp sweet ground paprika (optional, for colour)
1.2 L / 5 cups veggie stock or veggie stock powder / cube dissolved in water
1¼ tsp fine salt, adjust to taste
400 ml / 14 oz full fat coconut milk
juice of ½ lime (approx. 2-3 tbsp), adjust to taste
1½ tsp sugar (I used coconut sugar), adjust to taste
steamed green veggies: broccoli, bok choi, spinach
200 g flat rice noodles, cooked
250 g of shop-bought tofu puffs or fried / baked tofu
200 g fresh bean sprouts, cleaned and blanched
fresh coriander, chopped
Categories
large plates
salads and soups
Cuisine
Asian
Steps
Place all the paste ingredients apart from the dry spices in a food processor or chopper and process until finely shredded. You could also use a blender, but you will need to add water and the paste will splatter a lot when being fried off in the next step.
Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy bottomed pot. Add the laksa paste and fry it off very slowly (on a low heat) for at least 15 minutes, stirring the whole time.
With 5 minutes left to go, add dry spices and continue to fry the mixture off gently, stirring regularly.
Next, add in stock, 1 tsp of salt and all the lemongrass leftovers that did not go into the paste, apart from the very outer leaves. Cover the pot and bring the soup to a gentle simmer. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Fish out the lemongrass bits with a slotted spoon and discard. Slowly stir in coconut milk.
Taste the soup and season to taste with more salt (if needed), lime juice and a touch of sugar.
Divide the greens, noodles and tofu puffs between 4 bowls. Top with blanched sprouts and fresh coriander.
