Seafood Laksa
Laksa Paste
- 8 dried red thai chilies
- 2 tablespoons dried shrimp
- 4 shallots, peeled and chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 4 stalks lemongrass, tender parts only, chopped
- 1 3 inch piece fresh galangal, peeled and chopped
- 1 3 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
- 3 pieces fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped
- 8 candlenuts, or substitute with macadamia
- 2 tablespoons tamarind paste, seeds discarded
- 2 fresh kaffir lime leaves
- 2 fresh curry leaves
- 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, loosely packed
Place chillies and dried shrimp in two separate small bowls. Fill each bowl with boiling water. Let stand about 20 minutes to soften. Drain and place chilies and shrimp in bowl of food processor. Add shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, turmeric, candlenuts, tamarind paste, kaffir leaves, curry leaves and cilantro leaves. Process to form a smooth paste. If working with doubled or quadrupled recipe - divide paste into appropriate portions, transfer to containers and freeze until needed.
Seafood Soup
- 2 large Asian style eggplant, cut into 1/2 rounds
- Kosher salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
- 1 recipe Laksa paste, see above
- 4 cups strong chicken broth, homemade best
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 3 curry leaves
- 11/2 dozen small mussels, cleaned
- 1 pound shrimp, preferably head, rinsed and deveined
- 1 pound calamari, tubes and tentacles, cut into small pieces, well rinsed
For Serving
- Cooked rice noodles
- Wilted bok choy
- Fresh cilantro
- Bean sprouts
- Fresh red hot chili, thinly sliced
Place eggplant in a colander and set over a large bowl. Add about 1/4 cup salt, toss and let stand so to draw out bitter juices, about 30 minutes. Heat oven to 350. Rinse eggplant thoroughly under cold running water and pat dry. Transfer eggplant to a roasting pan, toss with 2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil, cover pan with foil and roast until eggplant is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
Meanwhile, set a large heavy bottomed soup pot over a medium low flame. Add remaining 1/4 cup vegetable or peanut oil. Stir in Laksa Paste and cook, stirring almost constantly to prevent scorching, for several minutes. The paste should behave sort of like a roux - coating the bottom of the pan as it cooks. Slowly whisk in chicken stock, coconut cream and coconut milk. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Add kaffir lime and curry leaves. Reduce heat and simmer about 45 minutes.
Add cooked eggplant and adjust seasoning to taste with salt as needed. Add mussels, shrimp and calamari and simmer gently just until mussels open and other seafood is cooked through, about 10 minutes. Serve piping hot, over rice noodles and accompanied with wilted bok choy. Offer cilantro, bean sprouts and chili as accoutrement. Hot sauce nice too. And don’t forget the beer.