Laksa - inspired by Khym Lam

After moving to a regional town, I found it was hard to find good laksa.  I have always loved making soup and found this nifty recipe in 'Eating In'. You can view the actual recipe here from Khym's book.  Khym usually makes her recipes for one or two people. I always double or triple my ingredients depending on how many I am cooking for.  Here is my version.

NB: Don't be put off by the length of this. This is a lovely soup and even I can make this soup. It's really simple. And vego's just delete the chicken and fish sauce. It's yummo!

Laksa (idiot rating = foolproof!, Spicy!, makes two large bowls, ingredients Woolies/Coles, Aldi & Farmers Market)

2 chicken breasts
1 serve of rice vermicelli noodles (quarter pack), 1 half pack of hokkien (all from Coles)
2 tablespoons of vegie or olive oil
3 cups of chicken stock. I always use Massel brand - 1or 2 cubes. All their stock is vegetarian and has a cleaner taste. But it doesn't really matter what stock you use.
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 can of coconut cream or milk. I use Aldi Light Coconut Cream - may be a bit much but I love a creamy soup.

Mix together:
1 tablespoon of Red Curry Paste (Aldi)
1 teaspoon of garden gourmet Lemon Grass squeezy (or 1/2 tspn powdered lemon grass)
2 teaspoons of tumeric powder
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon of galangal powder (Farmers Market) - Khym says it's optional but it adds a real zing to the mix. Don't put too much in!

Vegies/Extras
Tofu - I use Thai marinated tofu by Soyco from Coles - 1 pack
1 Tablespoon of garden gourmet coriander
2 to 3 chopped shallots
sometimes add snow peas or beans etc

Garnish
fresh coriander
chilli
tofu puffs (if not using tofu in the soup)
I don't use any of the above - I cut a lime in half and dump it or squeeze it into the soup - yummy)

Heat the oil in a large pot sizzle. Not too hot. Add the 'mix together' ingredients (ie. curry paste, lemon grass etc) until it is aromatic - let them sizzle for about one minute. Don't over do this and let it burn.

Add chicken stock and fish sauce and then bring it to the boil.  Add the chicken. As I am such a lazy bum I cut the chicken breast into the pot with kitchen scissors. I don't remove the chicken as Khym does. I don't know if this does anything but...?? Parent's here is the good thing. You can now go and tend to your kids or do what you want. I usually let this sit on low while running around madly doing 100 other things.  It's at this simmering point I add Kaffir Lime leaves as I love limey soup. You don't need to add these.

This is a good time to cook your noodles. If you are using rice vermicelli, cover them with boiling water and let them sit for about two minutes. Drain and rinse. Add to your bowls ready for serving.

Once the chicken is cooked (usually after you have boiled and brought it back to a simmer for about 5 minutes) add all your other ingredients.  First add 1 can of coconut cream and heat through. Then add the tofu and vegies. I also add hokkien noodles at this stage if using them.  All these ingredients really only need to be heated through. You don't want to overdo the vegies and make them wilt too much.  I usually throw in half a cut lime or squeeze it through the soup just before serving. This is optional.

Using a slotted spoon or pasta spoon, I spoon out all the heavy ingredients into the bowls (that have the vermicelli noodles in them). I then ladle out the soup on top.

Voila! Laksa noodles for two:)