Go Back

Laksa: Coconut Curry Noodle Soup

Noodles in a fragrant coconut curry broth with shrimp, chicken, tofu puffs, bean sprouts, and herbs, finished with lime and sambal at the table.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 14 oz (400 g) rice vermicelli or laksa noodles (thick round rice noodles)
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 1/4 cup (60 g) laksa paste or red curry paste
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised and cut into 3 pieces
  • 4 cups (950 ml) chicken or shrimp stock
  • 1 can (14 oz / 400 ml) coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more to taste
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons tamarind paste (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 8 oz (225 g) raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 8 oz (225 g) boneless chicken breast or thigh, thinly sliced
  • 4 oz (115 g) tofu puffs, halved
  • 2 cups (120 g) bean sprouts
  • 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved
  • 1 small cucumber, julienned
  • Fresh mint, Vietnamese mint (laksa leaf), or cilantro, for serving
  • Lime wedges and sambal oelek, for serving
  • Fried shallots, for serving (optional)

Method
 

  1. Soak or cook the noodles according to the package directions until just tender. Drain, rinse briefly under cold water to stop the cooking, and set aside, kept loose.
  2. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the laksa paste and lemongrass and fry, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes, until the paste darkens slightly and smells deeply fragrant.
  3. Pour in the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce, tamarind if using, and sugar. Simmer 10 minutes without a hard boil so the coconut milk does not split.
  4. Add the chicken slices and simmer 3 to 4 minutes, until just cooked through. Add the shrimp and tofu puffs and simmer 2 minutes more, until the shrimp turn pink and opaque. Taste and adjust with fish sauce for salt, sugar for balance, or lime for brightness.
  5. Blanch the bean sprouts in the hot broth about 30 seconds, then lift them out so they stay crisp. Divide the noodles among four warm bowls and add the sprouts, cucumber, and halved eggs.
  6. Ladle the hot broth with the chicken, shrimp, and tofu puffs over each bowl. Finish with herbs, fried shallots if using, a wedge of lime, and sambal on the side.

Notes

Fry the paste properly — if the broth tastes raw or one-note, the paste likely needed another minute in the oil. Keep the broth at a simmer, not a rolling boil, after the coconut milk goes in. Set the sambal out separately so everyone can set their own heat.