Smoked salmon laksa with a soft boiled egg Sebby Holmes, Payst and Farang

I recently found out that the King eats a boiled egg with every meal, so I thought I’d create a recipe that really highlights the humble egg in all its glory. Boiled eggs are used throughout Asian cooking and they’re a great way to elevate a dish, because they add a richness and depth that not many ingredients can. This gluten-free laksa is originally from Indonesia, and offers characteristics of a curry and a soup, making it ideal to eat with noodles and to soak up all the delicious curry juices. It’s also a real comfort — ideal if you’ve been celebrating the Coronation a little hard the night before.

Serves: 3

Ingredients

• 300g red curry paste

• 1 tbsp mild curry powder

• 10g dried shrimp, flossed using a pestle and mortar

• 2 medium whole eggs

• 1 tbsp brown soft sugar

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 400ml coconut cream

• 200ml fish stock

• 400g smoked salmon fillets, chopped into bite-sized pieces

• 2g fresh coriander

• 3 tbsp toasted peanuts, lightly crushed

• 300g thin vermicelli noodles, blanched in boiling water and refreshed in cold water

• 20g pickled mustard greens, chopped

• 1 lime, chopped

• 100ml vegetable oil

Method

1. In a medium sauce pan, heat the oil and when sizzling hot add the red curry paste, the mild curry powder and the shrimp.

Fry for eight to 10 minutes, making sure it doesn’t stick, until all the ingredients come together and the paste looks a little darker.

2. Meanwhile, soft boil and peel your eggs, then leave these aside at room temperature.

3. Next, add the sugar into the paste and continue to cook for a further few minutes until the paste goes darker still, then de-glaze the pan by adding the fish sauce and the fish stock and bring it all back to the boil.

4. Once boiling, add the coconut cream and bring to a simmer, and check the seasoning.

5. Lastly, drop the smoked salmon into the curry and serve in a bowl with the cooked noodles, pouring the hot curry over the noodles to heat them.

6. Garnish with a sprinkle of coriander, pickled mustard greens, with the soft boiled egg ripped in half and dribbling into the curry.

Squeeze a little lime over it for freshness.