Laksa

This vegetarian version of the Malaysian classic was incredibly delicious and well worth the effort of preparing the spice mix for the laksa paste.

Ingredients

serves 4

400ml coconut milk

2 limes

3 tsp ground turmeric

4 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tsp fine sea salt

2 tsp white sugar

for the spice paste

10 dried chillies, soaked in boiling water for 10 mins

6 shallots, chopped

8 garlic cloves

5cm fresh root ginger

4 stalks lemongrass

2 tsp dark soy sauce

for the ground spice mix

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 star anise

1 cinnamon stick

½ tsp black peppercorns

2 green cardamom pods

the toppings

200g vermicelli rice noodles

100g spinach, roughly cut into strips

12 deep fried tofu cubes, cut into quarters

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed

100g beansprouts

Method

Prepare the paste by bashing each ingredient into a pulp using a pestle & mortar, then mix together, adding the soy sauce to help combine the ingredients. Alternatively you could put all the ingredients into a food processor and blitz into a paste.  I personally prefer the slower bashing method. 

Next, heat a frying pan on a medium to high heat then add all the spice mix and dry fry them for a minute. Put them into a spice grinder to make the ground spice mix.

Add the ground spice to the paste and mix well.

Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the oil. Once it's hot add the spice paste and ground turmeric, fry for a couple of minutes before adding 1 litre of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer for over half an hour. 

In the meantime, pre-heat the oven to 200C. . Then place the butternut squash into a roasting tray and drizzle over a little oil. Stir to coat well, and place in the over for about 25 minutes until cooked through.

Put the rice noodles into a bowl and add boiling water. Blanche for a few minutes, until soft, then drain. Transfer into a bowl of cold water for a few minute to stop the cooking process, then drain again and set aside.

Return to the stock and if it's full of flavour then strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any large gritty pieces of spices. (If not, continue to cook a little longer to reduce the liquid and intensify the flavours)  

Pour the stock back into the saucepan. Then add the coconut milk, sugar and salt and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes.

Add the lime juice and taste. Adjust the flavour to your preference with more salt, sugar, coconut milk or chilli. 

Before serving, turn the heat up to a medium to high temperature to ensure the stock is thoroughly hot. 

Pour into four large deep bowls, then individually place the "toppings" of the drained noodles, beansprouts, deep-fried tofu, spinach and butternut squash.  Leave to stand for a few minutes for the toppings to be warmed up by the stock.

Serve with a wedge of lime.