MALAYSIAN in origin, the world’s by adoption, Seafood Laksa is a soup with heart, soul and body. However, calling Seafood Laksa just a soup is a bit of an understatement. Try it and see what I mean. Laksa is a meal in itself.
One of the ingredients in the Laksa is shrimp paste. Available from Asian food shops, shrimp paste is highly pungent in its raw form. Don't be put off; when cooked it adds a delicious flavour to Seafood Laksa.

Laksa paste:
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped lemon grass
1 teaspoon finely chopped coriander root
2 red chillies, finely chopped
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 tablespoons olive oil

To make the Laksa paste, place all the ingredients for the Laksa paste in a food processor and blend until smooth.

Soup:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 dozen mussels, scrubbed and bearded
1/2 cup dry white wine
250g large green prawns, peeled and deveined
zest of 1 lime
600ml fish stock
300ml coconut milk
300g Laksa noodles
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons Thai fish sauce

Garnish:
fresh coriander leaves
2 shallots, green part only, chopped
small amount bean sprouts

To prepare the noodle soup base, heat two tablespoons of the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, white wine and mussels. Cover the pan and cook for a couple of minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat, discarding any mussels that have not opened. Place the opened mussels in a bowl and retain any juices from the pan for later use.
In a frypan, gently fry the Laksa paste in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil until the paste is fragrant. Add the green prawns and lime zest. Continue to fry for a further minute. Remove the prawns from the pan and place in the bowl with the mussels.
Add half the fish stock to the aromatics in the frypan. Stir well and bring to the boil. Transfer the contents of the frypan to the saucepan in which you cooked the mussels. Add the remaining fish stock and the coconut milk. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly, until the soup is smooth and heated through.

To prepare the noodles, place the noodles into a bowl and add enough boiling water to cover. When the noodles have softened, drain and rinse under cold water.

To serve, add the drained noodles to the soup, season with soy sauce and fish sauce to taste. Top with the mussels and prawns. Garnish with the coriander, shallots and a few bean sprouts. Serve immediately.
The Seafood used in these recipes is supplied by Sams Seafoods, Hamilton, (07) 3268 7088.