Description
Seafood Laksa is a creamy, spicy Southeast Asian noodle soup made with a rich homemade laksa paste, coconut milk, white fish, prawns, and rice noodles. Aromatic, bold, and deeply satisfying — it brings restaurant-level flavor to your kitchen in about 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
- 4 red chillies, roughly chopped (adjust heat to taste)
- 2 teaspoons ginger paste
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemongrass paste
- 1 heaped tablespoon fresh coriander stalks (reserve leaves for garnish)
- 1½ teaspoons ground turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
- 200 ml full-fat coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 200 ml chicken or seafood stock
- 2 fillets of firm white fish (e.g. cod or haddock), skin removed
- 200 g dried rice vermicelli noodles (or 300–400 g cooked rice noodles)
- 12–16 large raw prawns, peeled and deveined
- 200 g mung bean sprouts
- For garnish:
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 1 teaspoon caster sugar
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 small cucumber, finely chopped
- ¼ small red onion, finely chopped
- A handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes until soft and translucent.
- Add chillies, ginger paste, garlic, lemongrass paste, coriander stalks, turmeric, cumin, paprika, and tamarind. Stir and cook another 5 minutes until aromatic.
- Transfer this mixture (or blend in‑pan carefully) to smooth into a paste using a stick blender or small blender; return to the pan.
- Stir in coconut milk, fish sauce, and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Gently add the fish fillets and cook ~4 minutes, turning once, until they flake.
- While fish cooks, soak vermicelli noodles in boiling water ~3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- Add prawns to the soup and cook ~1 minute until they turn pink, then stir in mung bean sprouts and simmer 1 more minute.
- Divide noodles into bowls, ladle the hot laksa over, and top with the prepared garnish (mix of vinegar, sugar, chilli, cucumber, onion, coriander). Serve immediately.
Notes
- You can use store-bought laksa paste in a pinch, but fresh paste gives more depth.
- If you don’t have tamarind paste, substitute with lime juice and a touch of brown sugar (adjust to taste).
- Avoid over‑stirring the fish so it doesn’t fall apart.
- Cook noodles separately and add just before serving so they don’t turn soggy.
- Leftover laksa paste can be frozen in portions for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Soup / Noodle Dish
- Method: Simmering, Blending
- Cuisine: Southeast Asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 580
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 820 mg
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated Fat: 19 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 44 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 210 mg
