Laksa is a popular street food in Malaysia and Singapore; it’s a noodle dish that is quickly gaining popularity globally because of its scrumptious taste.
To most people outside of Malaysia and Singapore, laksa generally means curry laksa, in a curry and coconut milk soup base.
The truth is, there are many different types of laksa but the two dominant ones are curry laksa (as in this recipe) and asam laksa.
Today I am sharing my “friendly” laksa recipe with you.
I have adapted the recipe so the taste appeals more to the western palate.
This is the version you will find in most high-end hotels in Southeast Asia, with the ingredients modified but the flavor is still iconic and authentic.
I added evaporated milk to the laksa stock, so it’s half coconut milk and half evaporated milk.
The end result is a creamier version of laksa without the dominant flavor of coconut milk.
To get the curry paste in this recipe, you can buy it online at Amazon.
Once you have the curry paste, you can make this recipe easily.
The flavors are bold and addictive, but I assure you that this is a noodle dish you will want to eat every day!
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Laksa Recipe
Laksa - Spicy street food noodle dish popular in Malaysia and Singapore. This homemade curry laksa recipe is so easy and delicious!
Ingredients
Soup:
- 3 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1/2 pack Malaysian instant curry paste (120 g)
- 2 cups chicken broth (1 can)
- 2 cups water
- 2 stalks lemongrass, white part only, pounded
- 10 tofu puffs, cut into pieces
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- salt to taste
Other Ingredients:
- yellow noodles
- bean sprouts
- 10 shrimp, peeled, deveined and cooked
- 3 hard-boiled eggs, cut into halves
- fish cakes, cut into pieces
Instructions
-
In a stockpot, add the oil and sauté the instant curry paste until aromatic. Add the chicken broth, water, lemongrass, tofu puffs and bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer. Add the coconut milk and evaporated milk. Add salt to taste. Keep the stock on simmer.
-
Rinse the yellow noodles and bean sprouts separately, drained and set aside.
-
To assemble a bowl of laksa for serving, bring to boil some yellow noodles and a handful of bean sprouts. Drain the noodles and bean sprouts and transfer to a serving bowl. Top the noodles with 2-3 shrimp, a few pieces of fish cake, and some eggs. Using a ladle, pour the soup and a few pieces of tofu puffs on top of the noodles. Serve immediately.
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Julie
Hi! I’m looking for an authentic laksa recipe like what I had in either Singapore or Malaysia. Do you have any that are not dumbed down for the western palate? Are all your recipes like this?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, my recipe is authentic.
Gmart
Ready to eat items has made an individual life’s easy and good for instant hunger. Gmart also present different variety of ready to eat food with its instant food category.
martin huang
I prefer malaysia laksa than singapore. A big prawn is a bonus.
Rasa Malaysia
Of course, Malaysian laksa tastes MUCH better.
singapore food blog
Thanks for sharing this! I am glad to found this post via a forum member recommendation. I really love eat laksa. :)
Karen Stone
Bee, I love your recipes and your wonderful photos!
What are “tofu puffs”? Never heard of them before Can I substitute fried tofu?
Rasa Malaysia
Yes you can try fried tofu. Tofu puffs are fried tofu sort of but inside is hollow and spongy. Just google and see.
Diana Lopes
Seems delicious! I liked the way you’ve adapted it to the western palate, can’t wait to try it!
Rasa Malaysia
Yes I have a super authentic recipe but this is western palate friendly. :)
Missy Harris
Hey Bee, looking forward to making this, but wondering whether you can help me out with “yellow noodles”. What exactly is this type of noodle?
Rasa Malaysia
Yellow noodles are what we Asian eat, they are only available at Asian stores. You can use other noodles, for example: ramen noodles, vermicelli, or dry lo mein.
Missy Harris
Are you referring to Hokkien noodles when you say say yellow noodles? Trying to determine what to look for at my local Asian market, as they carry gazillions of different types.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes.
Ellen Scott
I remember 1st time i eat laska is in small restaurant in Malaysia and yes, it is great! Can’t wait to cook it in my kitchen! And can’t wait to try the way you use 2 kind of milk in this recipe.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, it’s really great, I am sure you will love this.
Larry
A proper recipe should provide the instruction for making your own Laksa paste. This pre-bought quick and dirty recipe’s are fine if you want it quick and dirty, but it is nowhere near the real thing.
Take the extra time and make a proper laksa paste yourself. The toasting of the spices, crushing of them with lemon grass, garlic, shallots etc will excite your senses and make the meal so much more worth the time.
By the way, the picture looks a bit bland to me. Laksa normally is served with a number of fresh vegetables, not as shown.
Rasa Malaysia
Larry – I have a made-from-scratch Penang curry mee here: https://rasamalaysia.com/penang-curry-mee-recipe/. If you read this article, I had stated that this is a “friendly” laksa recipe as I had modified the ingredients used to make it more accessible to the western people. No laksa is NOT served with fresh vegetables unless it’s Asam laksa. You may use green beans, like in the KL versions, but I am from Penang and our curry mee (curry laksa) has no vegetables other than bean sprouts.
Eat Healthy
Love the picture of the laksa….looks delicious!
Sophie
hi, thanks for the great tips to making Laksa !
I have a question to making it in process.
I’m going to using frozen shrimps.
by your recipes, Shrimps are topped over the noodle at end of stage.
how do you recommend me to do with frozen shrimps ? should I boil it at very last in the soup or should I fried a little and top it over ?
look forward to hearing it soon !
Rasa Malaysia
Frozen shrimp or not, it works the same way. You just thaw and boil.
Drumles Den Haag
I loooove laksa. Since I tastes it in Kuching, I’m so in love with tis dish. Thank you for this recipe :)
Mahjabeen
Hello bee, is there any substitute for the curry paste? It’s not available here in Pakistan
Sharon
Hi! I love your recipes and have been learning how to use Thai, Japanese, Korean and other Asian spices and flavors this past year. I have different kinds of red curry paste in jars and would like to use that in this recipe. How much would I use? Would I still cook it in the oil, or omit the oil? Also…could I use any kind of noodle and get a good dish?
Thank you so much, and thank you for sharing your recipes with us. I have learned so much from you!
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Sharon, just follow the instructions in this recipe. Red curry paste should be OK but might not be the same taste.
sasmummy
For your info, The Travelling Peranakan on Facebook is using your picture of the nyonya laksa.
karenhappycook
Thanks for sharing this recipe and I love it!
mardy
People from Darwin, Australia love Laksa aswell, they are sold at the local markets. People have found there favorite Laksa shops and will go out of there way to get it. When traveling down south there is no food to compare!
Poopy
how long does it take to make?
Rasa Malaysia
Maybe under 1 hour.
Ailisa Essaid
Dear Bee…I always look forward to read your blog…Well presented with great pix :-). I’m wondering whether you can help me out. I’ve been searching on the net for the Siamese Laksa, using not fish but chicken flesh instead. There’s a stall in Sec 14, PJ selling this laksa & being a laksa lover, tried asking the uncle for the recipe without any success:-(
The uncle uses the noodle just like the one in Penang Assam Laksa & the gravy is somewhat like curry mee but the taste is sour. I can see he put in tiny bits of bunga kantan (torch ginger bud), taugeh (bean sprout), kacang panjang (long bean) & oh I forgot to mention, prawns! Don’t you think it’s somewhat like curry mee? Maybe next time I should take a pix of it & post it to you :-)…Thanx for your time & answer Bee
Rasa Malaysia
Interesting I have no idea about Siamese laksa with chicken. The Siamese laksa in Penang is fish and coconut milk and palm sugar.
Patsy
Could you please explain what sort of fish cakes are in this recipe? Many thanks.
Rasa Malaysia
Just regular Chinese fish cake
William
Hi Bee,
How many does this recipe serve? Thanks!
Rasa Malaysia
Serves 3-4 people.
Adam Abdul
For a bit of twist would be tremendously welcome to enhance the really Malaysin palates . That’s nice really. I reckon.
fionna lee
hi there! i am cooking laksa for my school pratical homework and i found ur recipe which was the easiest! i was wondering this recipe is for how many servings. thanks a mill!:)
Anthony Lebatuan
Thanks so much for the recipe and the beautiful images. My tummy making noise just looking at the pix.
I had my first Laksa in Singore on June 20th, 2000 and always must have Laksa being back to Sing each time.
The Singaporean version uses some clams, fish paste loaf (sliced as you can see in your posted picture 1/2) the clam juice in their stock with the rest of your listed recipe. The clams added some seafood character to the dish.
Love it.
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, the clams are called bloody clams and they are not available in the US. You can also get laksa in Malaysia.
Kathy
hi bee,
silly question though, what is the difference between a curry paste and curry powder? in case i won’t be able to find curry paste here in our place, can i use curry powder instead? thank you :) looking forward in making this dish
Rasa Malaysia
Curry paste is wet and has been stir-fried and combined with oil. Powder is dry. Curry powder will not give you the same taste as it’s plain.
SharonTXQ
This recipe is for how many people?
Thanks a million ^^
Munira
hi bee,
i just saw ur website n i’m so trilled as a fellow malaysian here. i’m so proud of u who promoting malaysian foods to the world~
just want to say here that ur version of laksa is really an asam laksa while my family is the other version of laksa (tamarind laksa) because my family from kuala kangsar, perak n my late grandfather used to sell laksa in his hometown.
for this version of laksa, u use belacan and boiled fish… n the noodle also different.
btw, love the food pics~ =)
kalyani
Hii there! I love your version of Laksa! sounds yummy to me! But i was wondering if its possible to make the curry paste at home? Coz i live in INDIA and i have never seen any laksa paste at the mall!
khalilgib
LAKSA SPICE PASTE
20g piece ginger, chopped
3 fat garlic cloves
2 stalks lemongrass, chopped
75g shallots, roughly chopped
2 teaspoons dried shrimp, rehydrated in boiling water for 5 minutes and drained well
1.5 teaspoons shrimp paste
20g cashew nuts
2 teaspoons fish curry powder (Baba’s, if you can get it)
20g fresh turmeric
4 fresh long red finger chillies
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
Pierre
^
The spice paste “khalilgib” wrote is the one Rick Stein uses on Masterchef Australia. Its a really good tasting paste and the Laksa made with this paste, tastes better then some of the Laksas I had when I visited Malaysia so I recommend this paste over any storebought ones!
Bigi
Just made this tonight – it was delicious!!! The entire family enjoyed it and I don’t think I spent more than 30 minutes preparing the laksa. Thank you so much Bee!
kie
i love hokkien mee in singapore and laksa
Anne
How many people does your recipe serve?
Joyce
Hi, I’m a Malaysian student currently studying in the UK. Thank you so much for your recipes. I find the instructions easy to follow and I get a great sense of achievement when I manage to cook something nice for my friends! Thank you so much!
Sylvia
I cooked this curry for dinner last night. I used some leftover wonton noodles, and added some wontons. My husband was so impressed that he was reluctant to throw the curry soup away after we have eaten the noodles! Lately he has been very stressed at work and thus grumpy all the time, but last night he was slightly better after dinner! ;)
Thank you for the recipe!
J
Hi there,
Love the picture of the laksa….looks delicious!
Like you yourself, I prefers Penang laksa as i think it is much more aromatic. It is however, quite tricky to get hold of it here in london so I have posted a recipe with my take on it a few months a go. Have a look… Thanks!
http://feasttotheworld.blogspot.com/2011/10/malaysian-penang-laksa-rice-noodles-in.html
Joyce
How mush people can I serve for this recipe ?
Thanks
piabkk
my boyfriend is in malaysia now, and i love the curry laksa very much
the problem is i stay in thailand.Have any way he could bring it back for me ?
Yvonne
Hello Rasa Malaysia
Great job and I really like your website!
You mentioned using chicken stock in the recipe, is it just any kind of ready made chicken stock from asian grocery?
Thanks
Rasa Malaysia
Yes, ready made is fine.
Nandar
Hi,
Thanks so much for this Yummy Laksa Recipe. It seems easy to follow for an amateur cook like me. I am all about easy recipe and would love all semi homemade recipes (using instant paste and mix) :P Could you please mention which paste (the brand) did you use? Did you use Laksa paste or chicken curry paste? There is no Malaysian Grocery around me and I am bout to order the paste from the Asianmarket365.com. So please kindly suggest the paste I should get for Laksa and the chicken curry too.
Julia Quay
My all time comfort food curry laksa. I left East Malaysia 45 yrs ago and whenever I go home for a visit my first meal will always end up being curry laksa. Thanks for your recipe. Will try and make it and will let you know how it turns out.
Melissa Loh
That looks dah yum! I could use with a bowl of laksa in this chilly Australian winter.
kl_changs
What a gorgeous, mouth-watering Laksa!
Bee, I miss our Penang Curry Mee. Especially the ones I used to eat sitting on little stools at a stall run by a couple of sisters @ the Air Itam market. The chilli paste and squid were sooo good. Have you posted a similar dish?
Fuji Mama
Bee, I am SOOOOO excited that you posted this recipe! Okay anyone reading this comment—I was the lucky recipient of this laksa and it was mind-blowingly good!! I can’t wait to try making it myself! How long do you suggest simmering the stock for?
Rasa Malaysia
Hey Rachael – so glad that you came to eat my laksa. You can simmer for about 30 minutes or so, until the curry is perfumed with the lemongrass and kaffir lime leaves aromas…you will know it when it’s ready. :)
myen smart
oh gosh mouth dripping!… looks delicious and tempting…
Rasa Malaysia via Facebook
Thanks all for your comments. I have imported all your sweet comments on Facebook to my Rasa Malaysia blog. I will reply to you guys personally on my blog, so go check it out. https://rasamalaysia.com
Mark & Reese
After living for years in Singapore, eating instant everything because traditional cooking is extinct, we’re surprised a Singaporean would complain about instant spice mixes.
But the question is, what is the alternative to spice mixes? Is it to buy five different ground spices and mix them in a bowl and call yourself a chef? Might as well save yourself some time and buy the pre-mixed package, and as Jun mentioned, add a bit more of your favorite spice if you want to customize it.
In Penang, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, spice mixes are commonly used in traditional cooking. Head to any morning market, and you will see many spice sellers who will provide you with the perfect concoction for fish curry or chicken curry or any other curry. And what about Chinese five-spice? This is a spice mix that has been around for a very long time. Using a spice mix does not mean you are not a good cook.
On Season with Spice, we recommend using whole spices and grinding them at home for increased flavor and fragrance, but we would never expect that everyone has the time and energy to do this, including ourselves for most meals.
Bee – keep up the great job you are doing by making Asian recipes accessible to everyone.
Ju
WAH! Laksa looks so darn good, Bee! PS: I’m always baffled whenever I see bloggers apologise for using ready-made stuff. Why??? If it tastes good, makes your life easy, what’s the problem?
Jun
Pre-made instant spices are very versatile. We can add more spices, fresh or dried, to achieve the flavor we are looking for. I prepared rendang out of spice mix once and it was not good. The next time I added some more spices of my own and it was one of the best I ever tasted. As long as we know what’s the main spices component in the mix, we can make killer and authentic dish. You always add your own spices with your instant mix, I like your recipes for it.
Also, yeah, cookbook for instant pastes, that’s a great idea, Bee!
Janessa
Ahh there are so many instant curry paste, which one do you recommend?
Ting
We receive good comments for all these curry paste especially Delimas (Curry Laksa) and Tean’s Gourmet (Curry Laksa and Chicken Curry).
jo
Sorry to sound patronising, but do you specialise in teaching people to use pre-made mixes? You’ve got quite a number of posts in which you have no qualms cooking with spice mixes bought from Asian supermarkets. Which is fine, for an amateur cook. But I must admit I am surprised you have a cookbook published.
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Jo from Singapore,
Thanks for taking the time to leave me your comment.
It’s not a culinary sin to use a ready-made spice mix to cook, if you watch cooking shows, many professional chefs and/or authors do so. The question is whether or not you are capable of using a commercial spice mix to make something really good without sacrificing the authenticity of the dish.
If you are looking for a laksa recipe from scratch, the recipe is on my site and is prominently linked in the post – Penang Curry Mee. If you want a curry recipe from scratch, you can find it too at my other blog Nyonya Food. I was merely trying to make laksa less intimidating to my readers (mostly Americans), and that it’s something they can attempt to make at home, with no fuss, without having to fly all the way to Malaysia or Singapore.
Yes, I have a cookbook in Chinese recipes and I made everything from scratch. For example: I didn’t use a mapo tofu mix to make mapo tofu, or instant char siu sauce to make char siu. That’s how I earned my credential to be an author.
Please also take note that my website is about “Easy Asian Recipes.” It’s not all about “Asian Recipes from Scratch.”
If that’s what you are looking for, I kindly advise you to find another blog to vent.
Best,
Bee
PS: I would have replied to you personally if you were to provide a real email address, but obviously, you did not.
kewpie
@jo – don’t see the problem in using pre made spices or paste. no different to buying supermarket packed lemon grass, belechan … Bee’s audience stretches far and wide… it’s all about making the dish accessible to people who may not live near an asian grocery store.
Bee – great post! I am a massive laksa person! Well, massive and a fan of laksa..haha
Jackie B
Jo,Firstly, not everyone lives next door to a Chinatown or even an asian grocer. I had to travel every 3 months to nearest city to buy pre mixes and cans, and packets stuff. I don’t see anything wrong with it. For some of us being so far away from our home country, this may be our only option.
So get off your high horse and stop critising Bee, for trying to make this type of fooods more accessible to Asians and foreigners alike. Who wouldn’t want fresh stuff? You should be thankful you can have this daily in SG. And be a bit more charitable to those who cannot. Constructive critism is fine, but your tone was of a personal attack of her talent and cookbook. Tsk tsk!
Lindsay
Jo, give me a break. Your comment shows that you are ignorant and jealous.
I have been following RasaMalaysia’s recipes for years. Majority of the recipes are from scratch. Bee has a lot of different types of recipes that tailored to people with different levels of cooking skills and experience. Also, there is nothing wrong with adding some pre-made paste in your cooking. Many chefs do that too.
Aileen Smith
Which brand of the instant curry paste did you used in this Laksa dish from the Asiansupermarket 365 pls.?
Thanks.
Rasa Malaysia
I recommend Delimas (Curry Laksa paste) and Tean’s Gourmet (Curry Laksa and Chicken Curry paste). Both are made in Malaysia. I like them. :)
Peter Pantry Raider
Usually I put lots of oily chilli paste into my laksa. How do you make that chilli paste? Some hawkers make fantastic chilli paste for their laksa.
As usual your photos make me drool.
kankana
This is absolutely my kinda soup .. the lemon grass.. spice flavor and shrimp .. just perfect. :)
Alex
Laksa is so goood!
I would like to see the assam version of it too
Rasa Malaysia
Alex, I have two recipes of Asam laksa. The links are in the post. Just click the links. :)
Eleanor Hoh
O.K. you got me drooling Bee! Agree with you, I prefer assam version too without coconut milk. I like the addition of kaffir leaves to give distinct flavor, must try.
Lynette W Leong via Facebook
@Tony – A-ha, u must be referring to ‘Hoi Yin’ coffee shop, run by a Chinese vendor who sell halal curry laksa on the row of shop at TC!! Yes, love their curry laksa.
Indu
I so love the look of this dish, and the sound of the coconut milk and the prawns. But I don’t think I can find the curry paste here in India. Wonder if I can find substitutes here.
Tony Mahoy via Facebook
Thank you so much for this recipe! I stayed at the Kuantan Hyatt some years ago and their curry laksa soon became my favorite. It had multiple types if noodles, small hard cooked eggs (quail?), and fried tofu. I couldn’t get enough of the fantastic flavors, and have been looking for recipes online for some time. Actually that is how I first encountered this website! Now if I could get that recipe for the seafood hotpot the vendor across the street had. Yum…
Aishah Abdullah via Facebook
I’m desperately wanting a bowl!
Aishah Abdullah via Facebook
A must to have Nyonya Laksa! Thankfully I can get Thai lemon grass & Duan kesom & Penang Belachan in Vancouver, is a must!
Myen Smart via Facebook
very much soooo!
Tim Vei via Facebook
Yum
Lynette W Leong via Facebook
the secret to the coconut laksa broth is of course the fresh coconut milk (don’t over heat), and the MUST have belachan (a.k.a. dried shrimp block and it must be ‘manufactured in Penang’), and pounded dried shrimp. All herbs are essentials, and they MUST be grown in South East Asia. For e.g : lemon grass fr Africa that I bought while in UK did not have the nice fragrance. My mother had to DHL to me lemon grass that she wok-dried (do ask me how to prepare this for long keeping in fridge).
Anisa Sugantal S via Facebook
I saw some laksa in England ! ;)
Ally Yap via Facebook
still waiting 4 your cooking show…………….lol……
Eka Folia Orr via Facebook
It’s very popular in Indonesia too..:)
unkaleong
Now you’ve got me craving for Curry Laksa. But wait a minute…I should be able to whip a bowl up for myself using your recipe :)
Rasa Malaysia
Of course Unka. But no need lah, just go out and ta pau or eat can already. What for make for yourself. ;)
Saif Al Wasim Khan via Facebook
Thanks for sharing the recipe. I had this last at Tekka market Singapore..
[email protected]
My all time favourite! This is a dish I must order when I see it at a hawker stall! Yours look delicious, Bee.
Rasa Malaysia
Shirley – yes, I love this, too but give me a choice I will choose Penang laksa in a heart beat. ;)
Peter
Whereas I love Katong Laksa.?
Elisa Arif via Facebook
Oww..thanks, I want to make that..
Lisa~~
Your Laksa looks wonderful and I’m going to have to find the tofu puffs, that looks like a great addition. Funny thing is I posted a Laksa recipe to my blog today and though I don’t know what version of Laksa it is, I sort of made it up based on a flavor profile I desired. I hope that you’ll check out my Laksa on Cook Lisa Cook.
I love your site and recipes.
Lisa~~
Cook Lisa Cook
Rasa Malaysia
Hi Lisa, thanks for your comment. I checked out your laksa post. Oh yes, there are so many versions of laksa I can’t say that I have tried them all. Yours are very creative and I bet it’s delicious.
tony jee
i’m a cook, i want find a recipes to cook kuching laksa…can you halp me !! 0168891214
Liew Suit Ching
This is called Sarawak Laksa. You can go to Googles & type ‘Sarawak Laksa’ & click ‘Search’ & the Recipe will appear immediately on the Screen. Then you can ‘copy’ & ‘paste’ on Desktop & print it out & go & buy the Ingredients. I understand from My Ex-Lady Boss that the Sarawak Laksa Paste have to get from Sarawak itself.
Graeme Roberts via Facebook
Very popular in Australia. I think that there might be an exclusively Laksa food court in Adelaide.
Jake Carvey via Facebook
I MISS IT!!!
Lynette W Leong via Facebook
agreed with “laksa means curry laksa, a noodle dish in coconut milk”, and it has to be the ‘nyonya” style of spice and herbs used. The garnishing, however has a variety of difference between Ipoh/ Kangsar, KL, Melaka, state of Johor, and Kuantan.
Doreen Teoh via Facebook
I mastered my laksa broth, so far it is da best, i even beat my mother’s recipe!
Kara
Wow your laksa looks good, I could use a bowl of laksa now.
Diana Adams via Facebook
Thank you, I can eat this all day!
Way Point via Facebook
A fitting breakfast! =)