Jane says: “As with most Asian recipes requiring spices, the list of ingredients for this aromatic, refreshing, spicy Malaysian noodle soup might look dauntingly long – but don’t be put off as they’re mainly just store cupboard items whizzed into a paste and cooked all in one go.

“It’s then plain sailing with rice noodles and raw prawns added to stock and coconut milk, creating a meal in itself in a bowl. It’s delicious! To ring the changes, swap the prawns for 400g of firm tofu, cubed.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the paste:

2 mild red chillies, cut into small chunks (remove seeds and membrane if you like less heat, but this isn’t very hot)
5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh root
ginger, peeled and chopped (or use 6 teaspoons ginger paste from a jar)
4 small round shallots, quartered
stick of lemon grass, woody outer layers removed and soft bottom section cut into chunks (or use 1 teaspoon lemon grass paste from a jar)
½ tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp shrimp paste
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp vegetable oil

For the laksa:

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 x 400g tin coconut milk
1 litre fresh fish or chicken stock (or use 2 stock cubes)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
300g (frozen weight) raw shelled tiger or king prawns (around 8 per person), defrosted
a good handful of baby spinach leaves
juice of 1 lime, to taste
a little dark soy sauce, to taste
600g ‘straight-to-wok’ ribbon rice noodles (or similar)
a handful of coriander, leaves picked and roughly chopped
1 lime, cut into quarters, to serve (optional)

Method

Blitz all the paste ingredients together to make a very smooth, fine paste using a herb chopper, stick blender in its beaker or a small food-processor.

For the laksa, heat the vegetable oil in a deep saucepan or wok on a medium heat. Add the paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring, until it becomes aromatic and begins to turn a darker colour.

Stir in the coconut milk and stock (if using cubes, crumble them into the pan and add 2½ empty coconut milk tins full of water) and bring to the boil. Add some salt and pepper to taste, bearing in mind it will taste a bit raw at this stage.

Reduce the heat and simmer very gently for 20 minutes, giving it the odd stir.

When you are ready to eat, add the prawns and baby spinach to the hot soup, then immediately remove from the heat, allowing the prawns to cook in the indirect heat for a few minutes. As soon as they turn pink, they are cooked. Add some lime juice and soy sauce to taste.

Distribute the (unheated) noodles between four serving bowls, untangling them, if necessary. Ladle the laksa over the noodles, scatter with the chopped coriander, nestle in the lime wedges (if using) and serve.

Tips

The paste can be made up to 3 days in advance, but keep it well covered in the fridge to avoid the strong smell escaping.

Or, make the recipe to the end of step 3 up to 3 days in advance, then cool, cover and chill. Reheat gently in the pan until hot throughout before adding the prawns and spinach as above.

For the noodles, alternatively, you can use 200g dried flat rice noodles, cooked according to the packet instructions (place the noodles in a bowl, cover with boiling water, leave for 3 minutes, then drain). Boil the kettle before you’re ready to add the prawns to the laksa.

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