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The recipe will yield enough paste to make 4 portions of laksa soup
Homemade Laksa Curry Paste
Laksa Paste used to make the Laksa, a Malaysian soup full of aromatic Southeast Asian ingredients, such as Kaffir lime, lemongrass, galangal and turmeric root.
Ingredients
- 5 Long Red Chiles *, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon (1 inch or 5cm square cube) Fresh Turmeric (peeled and chopped) or 1 Teaspoon (3.18g) Ground Turmeric
- 3/4 Teaspoon (2.4g) Ground Cumin
- 1 Small Brown Onion or 4 Shallots, chopped
- 2 Lemongrass Stalks, white part only, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Galangal or Fresh Ginger (about 1 inch or 5 cm square piece), peeled, chopped
- 6 Cashews, Macadamia Nuts or Peanuts
- 3 Cloves Garlic
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) Oyster Sauce or Thai Fish Sauce **
- 2 - 4 Tablespoons (30-60ml) Vegetable Oil
- 2 Kaffir Lime Leaves, ribs removed or Zest of one Lime
- 1 Handful Fresh Cilantro (leaves and stems)
- 1 Tablespoon (14g) Tamarind Paste (or 2 tsp (8.3g) Light Brown Sugar & 2 tsp (9.8ml) lime juice)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients (except the oil) in a food process and blend. Add oil in small amounts until a smooth paste is formed. Using all of the oil may not be necessary.
- Place the paste in an airtight container. It can be used up to a week.
Notes
* Indonesian Cabe Merah peppers are used in traditional Laksa pastes, but they can be challenging t find. You can substitute Cayenne pepper, Cihie de Arbol, Guajillo chiles (which will result in less heat. For milder heat overall, remove the seeds and membrane of the chiles. You can also used dried chiles. If using dried chiles, heat water to boiling and cover the peppers for 10 minutes to revive their texture.
** I have opted to use oyster sauce or Thai fish sauce instead of traditional shrimp paste in this recipe. The shrimp paste can be difficult to find, and can have a strong fishy flavor which is balanced by using lime juice in the laksa soup. If you opt to use the traditional shrimp paste, substituted 1 teaspoon of the paste for each tablespoon of oyster or fish sauce.
I use this recipe time and time again with a few tweaks such as increasing the amount of each ingredient for more intensity in my laksa. This is a great and easy recipe and the results are fabulous, like restaurant standard laksa and my family really enjoy it particularly on cold days when it’s a great warming dish! I use a lot of vegetable stock and coconut milk to make the flavoursome
Laksa vase and put fried beancurd and defrosted mixed oriental vegetables in the last few minutes of cooking and serve with blanched noodles and Thai basil. Sometimes I make the laksa paste in the evening and leave it covered in the fridge overnight as this further intensifies all of the wonderful ingredients and cook the laksa the following day. Highly recommend this recipe.
Thanks for taking the time to write. I agree that keeping it in the fridge overnight – great tip!