Laksa Paste

Name: Laksa Paste
Yield: Makes 250 ml
Cuisine: Asia
Ingredients: 4 red bird’s-eye chillies; 1 teaspoon dried prawns; 2 red shallots, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, sliced; 2 teaspoons belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste); 1 teaspoon minced lime zest; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced; 25 g candlenuts; 1 teaspoon chopped galangal; 2 coriander roots, chopped; 1 tablespoon Vietnamese mint (laksa) leaves; 120 ml vegetable oil; 1 tablespoon coriander leaves; 2 dried bird’s-eye chillies; 1 teaspoon coriander seeds; 1 teaspoon chopped turmeric

Preparation info

Makes
250 ml

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Fire

By Christine Manfield

Published 2008

About

A classic paste featured in Nonya cooking. Apart from using it to make laksa soup, I also use it as a stir-fry paste and a marinade for barbequed meats or fish.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
1 teaspoon dried prawns
2

Asia
Spice Mix
Fish course
Pescatarian
Southeast Asia
Gluten-free

Method

Dry-roast the belacan, dried prawns, chillies and coriander seeds separately over gentle heat until fragrant. Cool, then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder. Place in a blender along with all the other ingredients and process to a smooth paste. Spoon into a jar, then cover with a film of oil. The laksa paste can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.