A good Asian laksa is rich, complex and full of flavour. But sometimes you want all those curry soup vibes in a hurry… and you don’t have hours to spare! Don’t worry: I got you. My quick weeknight recipe for an easy prawn and dumpling laksa brings together bouncy noodles and all the saucy goodness in a fraction of the time, thanks to my secret weapon I’m added to that curry broth. Watch and learn, my friends!
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp Marion’s Kitchen Thai red curry paste
2 tbsp curry powder
4 laksa (Vietnamese mint) leaves, plus extra to serve (optional)
400ml (14 fl oz) can coconut milk
4 cups chicken stock
1 tsp sugar, plus extra to taste
2 tbsp fish sauce, plus extra to taste
400g (14 oz) dried laksa noodles (or noodles of your choice)
400g (14 oz) peeled prawns, tail on, deveined (optional)
12 frozen dumplings
2 bok choy, trimmed, rinsed, cut into large chunks
2 soft boiled eggs, halved, to serve
bean shoots, to serve
- Bring a large pot of water to the boil.
- In the meantime, heat the oil in a separate wok or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the curry paste and curry powder and cook, stirring, for half a minute or until fragrant. Add the laksa leaves and stir through, if using. Next, add in the coconut milk, chicken stock, sugar and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to make friends.
- Cook your noodles in the boiling water according to packet instructions, or until just tender. Use tongs to drain and transfer the noodles to 4 serving bowls.
- Add the prawns to the laksa broth and cook for around 3 minutes or so until cooked.
- Once you’ve scooped out your noodles, add the dumplings to the same noodle cooking water and cook for 4-5 minutes or until cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to drain and divide among the serving bowls. Blanch the bok choy in the same boiling water for 30 seconds and add those to the serving bowl too.
- Taste the laksa soup, adding extra fish sauce and sugar to season if needed. Ladle your laksa over the noodles and top with egg halves, bean shoots, and laksa leaves, if using.
