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Prawn Laksa
Recipe by Chloe Carroll
Chloe takes her Prawn Laksa to the next level by adding her own handmade Hokkien noodles to her signature dish
- Steps
- Ingredients
Ingredients
Hokkien Noodles
Fried Shallots
Laksa Paste
Laksa Soup
Garnish
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Steps
- Preheat oven to 180C.
- For the Hokkien Noodles, place a large saucepan of water over high heat and bring to the boil. Combine the warm water and kansui powder (or pre-baked baking soda) in a small glass jug. Stir well then set aside until the mixture has dissolved. Mix flour and baking powder together in a bowl, then make a well in the centre. Add the egg, yolk, canola oil and salt to the bowl and use a fork to combine. Gradually add the dissolved kansui/baking soda solution to the dough, and use a fork to lightly whisk the mixture until it resembles a rough dough. If the dough is too dry, add more water, no more than 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough just comes together.
- Lightly dust a clean work surface with cornflour. Turn the dough out onto the floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth, about 5-10 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
- Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to the boil.
- Divide the noodle dough into 3 portions and roll out thinly. Set the pasta machine to position 1, passing one portion of the dough through the machine. Repeat until the dough feels firm, approximately 5-6 times, making sure to fold the dough onto itself after every roll. Set the pasta machine to 2, and pass the dough through the machine once. Dust with cornflour, set aside and repeat process with remaining dough.
- Attach the spaghetti pasta cutter roller to the machine. Run each sheet of noodle through the spaghetti cutter. Gently toss the noodles with cornflour and spread onto a baking tray in a single layer. Boil noodles in unsalted water until al dente, about 1-2 minutes. Drain and set aside.
- For the Fried Shallots, heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot. Add sliced shallots and fry, turning constantly, until golden brown and crisp. Remove shallots and drain on paper towel. Set aside.
- For the Laksa Paste, thinly slice the belachan then wrap the slices in aluminium foil. Place into the oven to roast until the edges of the belachan begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven.
- Place the lemongrass, galangal and ginger into a mortar and pestle and pound until coarsely broken down. Add the macadamias, garlic, coriander roots, roasted belachan and keep pounding until well broken down.
- Place the chillies and shallots into a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the chilli and shallot mixture to the mortar and pestle and continue to pound until the mixture forms a paste. Set aside.
- For the Laksa Soup, peel and de-vein the prawns, leaving the tails in tact and reserving the heads and shells.
- Heat oil in a large stockpot or wok over medium heat. Add the prawn heads and shells and cook until the shells turn bright orange, about 1-2 minutes. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and kaffir lime leaves and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds – 1 minute.
- Add the laksa paste and fry, stirring constantly until fragrant and slightly reduced, about 8-10 minutes. Add coconut cream and simmer over a low heat until the oil separates from the cream, about 6-8 minutes.
- Add the stock, fish sauce, brown sugar and curry leaves then increase the heat to high and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids. Place liquid into a clean saucepan and back over a low heat to simmer. Add prawns and cook until the prawns are firm and just cooked through, about 1-2 minutes.
- To serve, place cooked Hokkien Noodles into the serving bowl. Pour some Laksa Soup over the noodles. Add prawns then garnish with bean sprouts, herbs and Fried Shallots. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Notes
Kansui powder is used to give noodles their springy texture and impart a yellow hue. The powder itself can be extremely hard to find, however, you can make your own by simply placing a cup of baking soda on a tin foil lined tray and roasting in a pre-heated, 120°C oven for 1 hour. Allow to cool, use and store as needed in a sealed container.
