Chicken Laksa, Malaysian Curry Laksa at Home

Name: Chicken Laksa, Malaysian Curry Laksa at Home
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 1 tbsp neutral oil; 160 g (about ⅔ of a 240 g jar) curry laksa paste, use less for a milder broth; 1 litre water; 2 tsp chicken bouillon powder, or 1 litre chicken stock instead of the water; 500 g chicken thigh fillets, left whole; 400 ml coconut milk, 1 can; 2 tsp fish sauce; 2 tsp sugar, palm sugar if you have it; 100 g fried tofu puffs, halved; add a handful of fish balls too if you like; 300 g fresh hokkien noodles; 100 g thin rice vermicelli; 150 g bean sprouts; 2 eggs, boiled for 7 minutes, halved; 1 small bunch laksa leaf (Vietnamese mint) or coriander; 1 lime, cut into wedges; 2 tbsp fried shallots; to taste sambal, optional, for extra heat

A spicy coconut curry broth with poached chicken, tofu puffs that soak it all up, and two kinds of noodles

40 min Serves 4Medium About 770 kcal per serve · Over 600 kcal

Malaysian-style curry laksa made the way hawker cooks do it: the paste fried until the oil splits, chicken poached in the broth, tofu puffs simmered until they are full of soup, over hokkien noodles and rice vermicelli. About 40 minutes, with every ingredient costed for Australian kitchens.

Ingredients for 4

Broth

1 tbsp neutral oil
160 g (about ⅔ of a 240 g jar) curry laksa pasteuse less for a milder broth
1 litre water
2 tsp chicken bouillon powderor 1 litre chicken stock instead of the water
500 g chicken thigh filletsleft whole
400 ml coconut milk1 can
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp sugarpalm sugar if you have it
100 g fried tofu puffshalved; add a handful of fish balls too if you like

Noodles

300 g fresh hokkien noodles
100 g thin rice vermicelli
150 g bean sprouts

To finish

2 eggsboiled for 7 minutes, halved
1 small bunch laksa leaf (Vietnamese mint) or coriander
1 limecut into wedges
2 tbsp fried shallots
to taste sambaloptional, for extra heat

Australian tablespoons are 20 ml. Weights are given for the ingredients where it matters.

Method

Step 1Prep everything

Boil the eggs for 7 minutes, cool them in cold water and halve. Halve the tofu puffs. Pick the herb leaves and cut the lime into wedges.
Step 2Fry the paste

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the laksa paste and fry, stirring, for 2–3 minutes until it smells rich and the oil separates and turns red.
Step 3Poach the chicken

Pour in the water and stir in the bouillon powder. Add the whole chicken thighs, bring to a simmer and cook for 12 minutes until cooked through. Lift the chicken out and slice it.
Step 4Add the coconut milk

Stir in the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar. Bring back to a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce or sugar.
Step 5Soak the tofu puffs

Add the tofu puffs and simmer gently for 5 minutes, pressing them under so they fill with broth.
Step 6Cook the noodles

Pour boiling water over the vermicelli and leave for 3 minutes. Blanch the hokkien noodles for 1 minute and the bean sprouts for 10 seconds. Drain.
Step 7Fill the bowls

Divide the noodles and bean sprouts between 4 deep bowls. Top with the sliced chicken, then ladle over the hot broth and tofu puffs.
Step 8Finish and serve

Add the egg halves, herbs and fried shallots. Serve straight away with lime wedges and sambal on the side.

Watch it in 45 seconds

Why this version works

Fry the paste until the oil splits. Malaysian cooks call it pecah minyak: 2 to 3 minutes in hot oil cooks out the raw spices and turns a jar paste into a deep, rounded broth.
Poach the chicken in the broth. Whole thigh fillets stay juicy and give the soup body; slice them just before serving.
Tofu puffs are the sponge. Simmer them for 5 minutes so every bite bursts with curry broth. They are the part most people fight over.
Keep it at a gentle simmer once the coconut milk goes in. A hard boil can make it split and turn grainy.
Two noodles in one bowl. Yellow hokkien noodles plus thin rice vermicelli is the classic hawker mix: chewy and silky together.
Finish at the table. Laksa leaf (Vietnamese mint) is traditional; coriander works. Add lime, sambal and fried shallots to taste.

Swaps and variations

Seafood laksa: swap half the chicken for 300 g peeled raw prawns. Add them with the tofu puffs for the last 3 minutes so they stay juicy.
Fish balls or fish cake: add a handful with the tofu puffs. They are already cooked and only need to heat through.
Milder broth: use 100 g of paste instead of 160 g and finish with a splash more coconut milk. Put the sambal on the table for anyone who wants more heat.
One kind of noodle: use 400 g hokkien noodles, or 200 g dry rice vermicelli, if that is all you have.

Nutrition per serve

Per serve (1/4 of recipe)	About
Energy	3215 kJ (768 kcal)
Protein	44.6 g
Fat, total	43.4 g
Carbohydrate	58.9 g
sugars	9.2 g
Sodium	1701 mg

Calculated by Umall from the ingredient weights, using the Australian Food Composition Database (FSANZ) and typical labels for the laksa paste and fried shallots. Vermicelli is counted as 300 g cooked (100 g dry); sambal is optional and not counted. Values are estimates and vary with the brands you use. Energy bands are a guide to portion size, not a health claim.

Questions about Chicken Laksa

Where can I buy laksa paste, tofu puffs and the other laksa ingredients in Sydney?

Supermarkets carry a basic laksa paste, but Malaysian-style curry laksa paste, fried tofu puffs, fresh hokkien noodles and bean sprouts are easiest to find together at an Asian grocer. Umall, the online Asian grocer behind the AGO (Asian Grocer Online) app, stocks all 10 ingredients for this recipe and delivers same-day or next-day across Sydney Metro, and on set days to Wollongong and Canberra.

Or tap Buy all to add everything in one go, in quantities matched to pack sizes.

What is the difference between curry laksa and assam laksa?

Curry laksa, this recipe, has a rich and spicy coconut curry broth and is the laksa most Australians know. Assam laksa from Penang is sour and fish-based, made with tamarind and mackerel, and has no coconut milk.

How do I make laksa less spicy?

Use 100 g of laksa paste instead of 160 g and add a little more coconut milk. Serve the sambal on the side so everyone can add their own heat.

Can I use prawns instead of chicken?

Yes. Add 400 g of peeled raw prawns with the tofu puffs and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, until they just turn pink. Many Sydney laksa shops serve chicken and prawn together.

How many calories are in chicken laksa?

This recipe has about 770 kcal (3,220 kJ) per serve and serves 4. Most of it comes from the coconut milk, the noodles and the chicken. For a lighter bowl, use reduced-fat coconut milk and only rice vermicelli: that saves about 200 kcal per serve.

Sources and credit

Method adapted by the Umall recipe team from Linda Ooi's Malaysian curry laksa (Malaysian Chinese Kitchen), cross-checked against Nyonya Cooking's curry laksa, Azlin Bloor's guide to pecah minyak and RecipeTin Eats' laksa (listed below). Quantities are our own, scaled for Australian kitchens and Umall products.

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Chicken Laksa, Malaysian Curry Laksa at Home

Ingredients for 4

Broth

Noodles

To finish

Method

Step 1Prep everything

Step 2Fry the paste

Step 3Poach the chicken

Step 4Add the coconut milk

Step 5Soak the tofu puffs

Step 6Cook the noodles

Step 7Fill the bowls

Step 8Finish and serve