Vegetable laksa

SERVES 4 PREP AND COOK TIME 25 MINUTES

½ cup (150g) laksa paste

1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock

12/3 cups (400ml) canned coconut milk 1 lemongrass stalk, grated finely

2 fresh kaffir lime leaves, shredded finely 1 large (180g) carrot, sliced into ribbons 100g snow peas, halved diagonally 1 (150g) baby buk choy, leaves torn, stems chopped

200g fried tofu puffs

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 tablespoon lime juice

100g dried thick rice stick noodles

⅓ cup (25g) bean sprouts

½ cup loosely packed Thai basil leaves 1 long fresh red chilli, sliced thinly

1 lime, cut into wedges

1 Heat a wok over a high heat. Add laksa paste; cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add stock, coconut milk, lemongrass and lime leaves; bring to the boil, add carrot. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes or until carrot is just tender. Add snow peas, buk choy and tofu; simmer, uncovered, for 1 minute. Stir in fish sauce, sugar and juice. Season to taste.

2 Meanwhile, place noodles in a heatproof bowl, add enough boiling water to cover; stand for 5 minutes or until tender. Stir to separate strands. Drain. Divide noodles between the serving bowls.

3 Ladle laksa over noodles. Serve topped with bean sprouts, basil and chilli; accompany with lime wedges.

Not suitable to freeze or microwave.

Test Kitchen tips

For a strictly vegetarian laksa, check the label of the paste to make sure it doesn’t contain fish sauce or shrimp paste. Also, use soy sauce instead of fish sauce. If you can’t find fried tofu puffs, use silken tofu instead and heat through gently.