Peanut & Parsnip Cheat’s Laksa
An easy way to make a delicious laksa-inspired soup.
Ingredients
For the Laksa paste
- 8 garlic cloves
- 30 g ginger
- 30 g peanut butter (1 tbsp)
- 60 g tamarind paste (2 tbsp)
- 4 tbsp tomato purée (80g)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 30 g cold-pressed sunflower oil (3 tbsp)
For the Soup
- 2 tbsp cold-pressed sunflower oil
- 4 parsnips (350g)
- 2 lemongrass stalks
- 5 bird’s eye chillis
- 1 l veg stock
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 20 g coriander
- 200 g bean sprouts
- 100 g rice vermicelli noodles
- 225 g firm tofu
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel the garlic and ginger and grate both into a bowl, then mix in all of the ingredients for the paste along with 1 tsp salt.
- Slice the parsnips in half lengthways and place on a lined baking tray. Take 1 tbsp of the paste and evenly coat the parsnip halves. Then roast them for 40 minutes, turning them halfway through.
- For the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan or casserole and gently fry the paste for just 5 minutes, stirring it constantly so that the spices don’t burn. The moment the paste begins to stick to the pan, add the stock and coconut milk. Bash the lemongrass with a rolling pin or something heavy to break it open and release its flavour. Then pierce the chillies with a knife. Add both to the pan. Bring the laksa to a boil, cover and simmer until the parsnips are ready.
- In the meantime, press the tofu between two pieces of kitchen paper to remove some of the water. Then cut it into small cubes and fry with 1/2 tsp salt and a bit of oil until golden all over. Add the vermicelli noodles to a heat-proof bowl and cover with boiling water. Let them steep for 2 minutes, then drain them into a sieve and cool them off under cold tap water. Roughly chop the coriander including the stems.
- When the parsnips are nice and golden, remove the laksa from the heat and drop in most of the bean sprouts. After a minute, divide the laksa equally between the serving bowls. Add the vermicelli noodles, followed by the parsnip halves, the remaining bean sprouts, the coriander and the tofu.
Notes
Tip: Try looking for laksa leaves in your local Asian supermarket and add a few twigs to the laksa along with the lemongrass and chillies to infuse the soup. Then slice a couple of leaves and use to garnish. Delicious!