This laksa soup hails from Tangerang, a city in the province of Banten, Indonesia, located on Jakarta’s western border. It unusually includes toasted coconut as well as coconut milk, and is unique to this region. Traditionally the chicken is roasted separately, but I prefer to cook it as part of the soup base.
50 g/2⁄3 cup desiccated/dried coconut
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 chicken thighs
1 quantity laksa paste
2 bay leaves
750 ml/3 cups chicken stock 1
400 g/14 oz. potatoes, diced
200 g/7 oz. snake or French beans, roughly sliced
750 ml/3 cups coconut milk
3 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons grated palm sugar
500 g/1 lb. 2 oz. fresh rice vermicelli noodles
a little salt, sugar and ground white pepper, to taste
LAKSA PASTE
8 Asian shallots, roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 bird’s eye red chillies/ chiles, chopped
6 long red chillies/chiles, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon ground coriander, toasted
30 g/1 oz. piece galangal, finely chopped
15 g/1⁄2 oz. piece root ginger, finely chopped
5 g/1⁄4 oz. piece fresh turmeric, finely chopped
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
GARNISHES
toasted coconut, sliced
red chillies and lime wedges
SERVES 4
Start by making the Laksa paste. Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
For the soup. Dry fry the coconut in a small frying pan/skillet, stirring constantly over a medium heat for 3–4 minutes until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
Heat the oil in a wok or deep frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken thighs and fry skin side down for 5 minutes to brown the skin. Remove from the pan. Lower the heat and add the laksa paste and bay leaves. Fry over a low heat for 3 minutes until fragrant but not browned.
Return the chicken thighs to the pan along with the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer, partially covered for 15 minutes. Add the potatoes and cook for 5 minutes, then add the snake or French beans and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Finally stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar and heat gently until simmering. Cook for a final 1 minute.
Just before serving, cook or rehydrate the noodles according to the instructions on page 10. Drain and divide between noodle bowls. Ladle over the soup, scatter with the toasted coconut and serve with all the garnishes.
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