Laksa Soup

My friend Hannah took me to a wonderful Malaysian restaurant here in Oxford and I absolutely loved it.  It is a colorful, vibrant, restaurant filled with mouth watering aromas, flavors from all over the world, and of course that is what gives me great delight and joy. Hannah had ordered this soup called Chicken Laksa, which is coconut broth based, swimming with aubergines, tofu puffs, sesame grilled chicken, and of course topped with fresh garnishes. It is typically served with rice noodles, but she substituted rice instead. She let me have a taste, and i was hooked. I went again with Nathan on a date, and i chose the soup this time and of course, another bowl of deliciousness delivered. i just had to try and recreate this goodness at home. i mean, i have to head back to the States in 3 months, so i need to be able to try and take this back with me! It brings wonderful memories of my time spent here in Oxford, the friend i made in Hannah, and even the wonderful date Nathan and i went on with Banana Tree contributing to the fun. 

Here is my version. It may not taste exactly like Banana Tree's, but it sure came close. I don't know where on earth i was to find tofu puffs, so those sadly are not in my recipe. I also used frozen sliced zucchini instead of aubergines, because that is what i had on hand. I took extra liberties with garnishes, and i just kind of had my own laksa party in the end.. I invited Hannah and her husband over, along with our guest Tammy who was visiting at the time to be taste testers of this new recipe, and they really loved it and gave very positive feedback. Hannah especially loved it, which was a big encouragement to me, since she was the only other person who knew what the original tasted like. she gave it high praise and that made my heart so happy. Tammy asked a few times for the recipe, so here you go tamm! [and for the rest of you as well;)]

 Laksa Soup:

1 can of coconut milk
2-3 tablespoons of thai red curry paste
1 chicken stock cube
4 cups water
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tablespoon honey
1 heaping tsp turmeric 
1 tsp curry powder 
1/2 tsp chili sauce/sambal
1 small can evaporated milk
1/2 cup frozen or fresh diced zucchini 
2 cups boneless chicken breast, cooked, cut into small pieces
salt and sugar to taste

rice and or rice noodles


Generous Garnish:

bean sprouts
basil 
coriander
limes 
cashews 
spring onions 
freshly chopped red chili peppers


In a large pot, heat the thai red curry paste. add ginger garlic paste. stir and let the paste open up a little, taking care not to burn it. add honey, turmeric, curry powder, and chili sauce and then water and chicken stock cube. 

stir continually, and drop in zucchini, chicken strips [either cook them ahead of time, or in this case, i just dropped in some left over precooked tandoori chicken that i had on hand] in pot, and let ingredients really integrate into one another. 

Add coconut milk and evaporated milk. 
stir and taste a few spoonfuls, adding salt and sugar to your preference. 

mean while, rice noodles are easily cooked in a large bowl of boiling water for about 5-7 minutes.

To serve, ladle rice noodles in a the bottom of bowl. Ladle soup over noodles, making sure to grab some chicken and veggies as well. 

Garnish generously with thai basil, cashews, bean sprouts, green onion, and red chili. 

please enjoy!