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Hold tight and get ready to prepare the BEST Vegan Laksa at home: comforting, fragrant and incredibly addicting!

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Laksa is one of my absolutely favourite dishes. A rich base of coconut and flavourful broth it is packed full of fragrant and aromatic spices that when layered together bring spice, sweetness and floral flavours altogether in a soup of almost unmatched complexity.

What is truly amazing is that with each mouthful the flavour profile changes into a carousel of sensations.

The colours are also so beautiful, the vibrancy of the broth, the contrast of fresh herbs that garnish the dish, and your choice of veggies and noodles really do make this one of the most attractive dishes, dare I say it in the whole world.

What is Laksa?

Laksa is a spicy noodle soup originating from Peranakan cuisine, but also very popular in other South East Asian counties including Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.

In Indonesia, for example, laksa is a traditional comfort food; the spicy warm noodle soup is much appreciated during cold rainy days.

Because laksa has different varieties across Asia, it is difficult to list the exact ingredients for a world-wide accepted version.

Obviously the traditional version of this dish is not suitable for vegans, as it is very likely to feature animal products such as crustaceous and meat (typically chicken).

But from the vegetable point of view, this iconic soup often features tofu (puffed tofu, to be specific, of which I have a great homemade version on the blog if you find it hard to purchase), along with a bunch of vegetables that vary from region to region:

Bean Sprouts
Coriander
Cucumber
Mint
Chillies
Aubergines/Eggplant (deep fried)
Onions (fried)

During the years, laksa has also gained great popularity in Australia, where the broth is often enriched with coconut milk, and this take has been used more and more in other part of the world as well.

How to make Vegan Laksa

Today, I’m sharing a Laksa recipe starring a store bought Laksa paste (vegan, of course), freshened up with a few ingredients previously sautéed, such as garlic, ginger, lemongrass and chilli, for a mind blowing restaurant quality outcome!

STEP 1 - SPICE UP THE PASTE

In a large pan or wok heat the oil over medium low heat.
Add garlic and ginger, sauté for 1 minute, then add lemongrass and chillies, then cook for 2 minutes.
Add the laksa paste (I recommend this one), then turn the heat to medium, cook for a few minutes or until the oil starts to separate, stirring from time to time.

STEP 2 - MAKE THE BROTH

We are going to make a chicken style vegan broth (with store-bought cubes). Alternatively you can use vegetable stock/powder or other meat-free alternatives of your choice.
To make the broth simply add: carrot, onion, celery, potato, tomato paste, kombu and stock cubes to a 2 litre pot. Add 850 ml of cold water, bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes after water boils.
Add the chilli oil mixture to the wok along with vegetable chicken style stock, coconut milk and vegetarian fish sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes covered with a lid.
Taste the broth and stir in some lime juice and extra vegan fish sauce if needed.
Add tofu puffs (you can cut these in half if too big), stir well, bring the broth back to a boil then turn off the heat and allow to rest for around 5-7 minutes covered with the lid.

STEP 3 - ADD NOODLES & TOPPINGS

Now that our flavourful broth is done, all we need to do is to assemble the soup and enjoy it!

As mentioned, we can take inspiration from any country/region and customize the toppings and veggies according to our taste. For this version I used:

Flat Rice Noodles: simply boiled according to package instructions and rinsed under cold water. (alternatively you can use vermicelli noodles).
Aubergine: cut into stripes and deep fried in hot vegetable oil until soft. Then placed onto a kitchen paper to absorb the oil in excess. Alternatively you can air fry it by simply coating the aubergine/eggplant stripes with a little vegetable oil, season with salt and place into the air fryer basket forming only one layer. 7-10 minutes at 200°C (shaking halfway through) should do the trick. Pierce the pieces with a skewer or fork to insure they are tender enough. There's nothing more unpleasant that raw eggplant!!
Bean Sprouts: raw or slightly blanched for a refreshing and crunchy taste/texture.
Spring Onions, Mint, Coriander, Fresh Chilli: simply sliced and scattered to taste.

MORE ASIAN DISHES YOU WILL LOVE!

The BEST Vegan Laksa Recipe

Ingredients:

…for the vegan chicken style broth..
850 ml Water
2 Vegan Chicken Stock Cubes (oxo)
1 tablespoon Tomato Puré
1 Potato
1 Onion
1 Celery Stalk
1 Piece Kombu Seaweed
…for the laksa broth…
1 Can Coconut Milk (400 g – 14oz)
150 g Sambal Paste (Laksa Paste – Vegan)
2 Chillies (Bird’s Eye – or hot chillies)
3 teaspoon Vegetarian Fish Sauce
1 ½ tablespoon Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon Chilli Oil
½ tablespoon Soy Sauce
½ tablespoon Palm Sugar (or Demerara)
½ tablespoon Garlic Paste
½ tablespoon Ginger Paste
1 Lemongrass (smashed)
...topping and garnishes…
200 g Flat Rice Noodles (or Vermicelli)
150 g Bean Sprouts
200 g Tofu Puffs
1 Aubergine (sliced into strips and deep/air fried)
Red Chilli Pepper (thinly sliced)
Spring Onions (finely chopped)
Fresh Coriander
Lime wedges
Crispy fried Onions (optional)
Toasted Peanuts (optional)

Method:

1. Prepare the vegan chicken style broth by adding all the ingredients to a 2 litre pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes after water boils.
2. In a large pan or wok heat the oil over medium low heat. Add garlic and ginger, sauté for 1 minute, then add lemongrass and chillies, then cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add the laksa paste, then turn the heat to medium, cook for around minutes or until the oil starts to separate, stirring from time to time.
4. Meanwhile combine the chilli oil, sugar and soy sauce into a small bowl.
5. Add the chilli oil mixture to the wok along with vegetable chicken style stock, coconut milk and vegetarian fish sauce. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes covered with a lid.
6. Taste the broth and stir in some lime juice and extra vegan fish sauce if needed.
7. Add tofu puffs (you can cut these in half if too big), stir well, bring the broth back to a boil then turn off the heat and allow to rest for around 5-7 minutes covered with the lid.
8. Meanwhile cook the noodles according to the package instructions.
9. Place the noodles in 3 serving bowls and pour over the laksa broth.
10. Top with bean sprouts and the garnishes of your choice, a couple of lime wedges and serve right up.