Vegan Laksa Curry (Malaysian Noodle Soup)

The Southeast Asia cuisine has blessed us with a fragrant spicy noodle soup, the Laksa curry. Known to originate from the Malay Archipelago, the symphony of flavors in the dish arrive from Chinese and Malay culinary influences. This Vegan Laksa Curry (Malaysian Noodle Soup) is full of amazing flavours and is surprisingly simple to make.

My taste for Malaysian cuisine developed decades back when I used to live in KL, Kuala Lumpur. Every Tuesday I would religiously get the Apam Balik, which is a crispy and soft pancake topped with peanuts, from the Pasar Malam market. My love for the Malay cuisine was instantaneous and has resonated ever since.

Vegan Laksa Curry (Malaysian Noodle Soup) is a hearty meal filled with aromatic flavours.

I do not recommend buying a pre-made laksa paste unless you have absolutely no time to spare. Although the traditional Laksa paste is a blend of lemongrass, dried chillies, shallots, galangal, turmeric, spices, dried shrimp and shrimp paste, this is a vegan recipe so I have replaced shrimp paste with soya sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce.

With laksa, it is important to remember that the spicy paste that needs to be sauteed patiently for its flavours to develop. Once that’s done, the creaminess of coconut, acidity of the lime and the freshness of the herbs adds all the right dimensions to the dish. 

Common toppings include fried tofu puffs, bean sprouts and herbs like cilantro, mint and laksa leaves.

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #theblissofcooking on Instagram. You may like to try our other Malaysian recipes Kway Teow (Malaysian Flat Noodles) and Mee Hoon Goreng (Spicy Rice Vermicelli). 

Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 minutes 
Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients for Vegan Laksa Curry

1 packet boiled Rice noodles

For the soup
3 tablespoon oil
1 recipe Laksa Paste (recipe below)
4 cups vegetable stock/ broth
8 kaffir lime leaves/lemongrass leaves
salt to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
400 ml coconut milk
10 beans halved and blanched
1 cup broccoli florets blanched
200 grams tofu cubed and fried
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soya sauce (optional)

Garnishes
lime wedges
red chilli sliced
cilantro
Vietnamese mint

Laksa Paste
8 dried red chillies soaked
1 cup onions roughly chopped
10 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger (new roots)
3 tablespoons lemongrass stock finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons roasted coriander seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
10 soaked cashews
1 tablespoon soy/ veg oyster sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions for Vegan Laksa Curry

• Transfer all the ingredients for the Laksa paste into a blender and grind to a smooth paste. Add 2 tablespoon water while blending. Set aside.
• Cook rice noodles according to directions and set aside
• In a large heavy bottom soup pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add the homemade Laksa Paste and saute, stirring constantly until it becomes very fragrant and deep in colour about 5 to 10 minutes. The oil will start to separate.
• Add the vegetable broth, salt and stir scraping up all the brown bits. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and let it boil till oil starts to show up.
• While the soup is boiling, heat oil on high, fry the tofu golden brown. Drain and set aside.
• Now coming back to the soup, add sugar, coconut milk, fried tofu, and give a good stir so that the coconut milk is well incorporated. Cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
• Remove the lemongrass leaves from the soup, add broccoli, beans and cook for two minutes.
• Now add Switch off the heat, add lemon juice, coriander and stir.
• Divide the cooked rice noodles among bowls. Ladle flavorful soup over top of noodles. Top bowls with all the garnishes and serve.

Notes

• Adjust the salt and lime according to your taste.
• For more heat, you can add chilli flakes if desired.
• Addition of soya sauce in the soup is optional.