Rosemary’s chicken and coconut laksa

Serves 6

You will need:

150g fine or medium rice noodles 2 red chillies, chopped with seeds 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 2.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely chopped

150g fresh coriander, leaves and stalks coarsely chopped Juice of 1-2 limes 250g raw chicken breast or leg meat, very thinly sliced 50ml toasted sesame oil 2 x 400ml tins coconut milk 700ml chicken stock Approximately 4 tablespoons nam pla (fish sauce)

For the garnish, you will need:

4 spring onions, finely sliced at an angle

A few coriander leaves

1

Pour boiling water over the rice noodles in a bowl and allow to soak until soft, 5-10 minutes approximately. Once the noodles are cooked, drain them, leaving a couple of tablespoons of the soaking water behind to stop them sticking.

2

Put the chillies, garlic, ginger, coriander and juice of one lime into a food processor and pulse to a coarse paste.

3

Thinly slice the chicken breast or leg meat, whichever you are using, at an angle and set aside.

4

Heat the sesame oil in a large saucepan and fry the chilli paste for 2 minutes.

5

Pour in the coconut milk and the chicken stock, whisking to break up any lumps in the coconut milk. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.

6

Add the thinly sliced chicken, bring back to the boil and barely simmer for a further 3-4 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Add the fish sauce to taste and add more lime juice if necessary.

7

Divide the noodles into serving bowls, ladle in the hot soup and garnish with the thinly sliced spring onion and the coriander leaves.