This Malaysian-inspired vegan laksa is a must-try! Featuring chewy noodles cooked in a rich and aromatic coconut broth, it will leave you wanting more. This warm and cozy noodle dish is perfect for colder evenings.
As a Malaysian, it would be rude not to veganize one of the most popular Malaysian recipes! I might be biased, but this plant-based version tastes as good as the traditional ones.
As it is hard to find vegan laksa paste, I have included the recipe for it here. However, if you managed to get your hands on vegan laksa paste, feel free to use them instead of making your own.
💚Why you will love this recipe
- Comforting, hearty, and bursting with flavors
- Highly customizable to fit your dietary needs
- Fairly easy to make and is ready in an hour
- Meat-eaters approved!
🤔What is laksa
Laksa is a spicy noodle soup popular in Malaysia, Singapore, and some parts of Indonesia and Thailand. The ingredients used and preparation method varies from region to region. There are 9 different variations of laksa in Malaysia alone!
The most common laksa you might have heard of (or even tried) is curry laksa and Asam laksa. In today’s recipe, we will be making curry laksa.
Curry laksa is traditionally not vegan as shrimp paste is often added to make the laksa paste. They are also usually cooked in shrimp broth and topped with eggs, shredded chicken, and siham (blood cockles).
To make this dish vegan, we will replace the shrimp paste with soy sauce and shrimp broth with the good old vegetable broth. As for the toppings, I am going with tofu puffs, cilantro stalks, and bean sprouts, but feel free to add whatever toppings you like!
🌶What you will need
📃Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Noodles - I am using rice vermicelli, but you can also use lo mein noodles or other wheat-based noodles.
- Galangal - an optional ingredient, but I highly recommend adding it if you can find it.
- Lemongrass - We will only be using the tender white core. Peel away the tough outer leaves using your fingers, then slice 2 inches off the lower bulb. Roughly chop them into smaller pieces before using them. Alternatively, you can substitute it with 2 tablespoons of lemongrass paste.
- Chilies - Reduce it to 2 pieces to make it less spicy.
- Candlenuts - Can be substituted with macadamia nuts or hazelnuts.
- Tofu puffs - Essentially deep-fried tofu. You can find them in some groceries or at your local Asian market.
🔪How to make
Make the paste - Place all ingredients needed for the laksa paste in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Frying laksa paste - Heat a tablespoon of oil in a Dutch oven or stock pot over medium-high. Fry laksa paste for 10-15 minutes to reduce and brown it.
Cooking broth - Add broth and coconut milk. Let it simmer, for 15 minutes. Add tofu puffs, and cook for another minute. Stir in soy sauce and sugar, and add salt to taste.
Cooking noodles - While the soup is simmering, cook your noodles according to the instructions on the package. Drain and rinse it with cold water.
Assemble the bowls - Divide noodles into 4 bowls, and add tofu puffs, bean spouts, cilantro, and other toppings of choice. Serve and enjoy your vegan laksa while hot!
✅Helpful tips
- Batch-making the paste - To make the cooking process easier the next time you make laksa, batch-make the laksa paste. Portion it into individual servings, and it can be frozen for 3 months.
- Using a food processor - I highly recommend using a food processor to make your laksa paste. A blender will work, but you might need to add water to keep things going. This might cause it to splatter while cooking.
- Cooking noodles - Do not cook noodles directly in the laksa soup. Noodles absorb liquid while cooking, and you will end up with very little soup.
- Storing - Leftover vegan laksa can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. Do store the noodles and soup separately.
✨Variations and add-ins
Quicker version - Use a vegan store-bought laksa paste instead of making your own. Alternatively, you can batch-make the laksa paste and freeze it for later.
Extra spicy - If you love spice, try adding some dried chilies to your laksa paste. Soak up to 5 dried chilies in hot water for 15-20 minutes until soft. Then, blend them with the other ingredients needed to make the paste.
Lower fat - Use skimmed/lite coconut milk instead of the full-fat version.
Tofu puffs - Not a fan of fried foods? Swap the tofu puffs with baked tofu or smoked tofu.
🥕Topping ideas
Here are some fun toppings you can add to your vegan laksa -
- Veggies - bok choy, carrot, choy sum, broccolini, sauteed mushrooms
- Fresh herbs - cilantro, parsley, chopped green onion
- Plant protein - Baked tofu, smoked tofu, chunks of vegan chicken breast
- Fried shallots
- Crushed peanuts
- Sriracha or sambal
❔Commonly asked questions
Curry laksa is creamy and rich due to the addition of coconut milk. Spice level varies from restaurant to restaurant but is generally moderately spicy. The broth is also incredibly flavorsome and fragrant due to the addition of various Asian spices like lemongrass, galangal, and ginger.
Unfortunately, laksa soup does not freeze well as it contains coconut milk. Coconut milk might split upon freezing and thawing.
The best substitute for laksa paste is either Thai red curry paste or green curry paste.
🍽More Asian noodles recipes
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📖 Recipe
Creamy Vegan Laksa
Equipment
Ingredients
For laksa paste
- 2 stalks lemongrass (or 2 tablespoons lemongrass paste)
- 4 candlenuts or ¼ cup macadamias/cashews/hazelnuts
- 3-4 chilies roughly chopped
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 medium red onion roughly chopped
- 1 inch ginger roughly chopped
- 1 inch galangal roughly chopped (optional)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
For curry
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari/shoyu
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 4 tofu puffs sliced
- 4 servings rice vermicelli (or rice noodles/lo mein noodles)
Instructions
For laksa paste
- Preparing lemongrass - Peel away the tough outer leaves using your fingers, then slice 2 inches off the lower bulb to get the inner white core. Roughly chop them into smaller pieces before using them.
- Place all ingredients needed to make the paste in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
Making laksa broth
- Heat a tablespoon of oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Fry laksa paste for 10-15 minutes to reduce and brown it, stirring frequently.
- Add broth and coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, and lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Let it cook for 15 minutes.
- When the time is up, add tofu puffs to the pot and cook for another minute.
- Stir in soy sauce and sugar, and add salt to taste.
For noodles
- While the soup is cooking, cook your noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse them under cold water.
To assemble
- Divide the noodles into 4 bowls, and add tofu puffs, bean sprouts, cilantro, and sliced red chilies. Ladle soup over noodles. Serve your vegan laksa while warm.
Notes
- Batch-making the paste - To make the cooking process easier the next time you make laksa, batch-make the laksa paste. Portion it into individual servings, and it can be frozen for 3 months.
- Using a food processor - I highly recommend using a food processor to make your laksa paste. A blender will work, but you might need to add water to keep things going. This might cause it to splatter while cooking.
- Cooking noodles - Do not cook noodles directly in the laksa soup. Noodles absorb liquid while cooking, and you will end up with very little soup.
- Storing - Leftover vegan laksa can be refrigerated for 3-4 days. Do store the noodles and soup separately.
Nutrition
Nutrition info calculated is just a rough estimate and is provided as a courtesy. Bear in mind that value will vary based on variables like specific brand or type of product used. To obtain the most accurate representation, it is highly recommended that you calculate it on your own with the actual amount and type of ingredient used.
Bett
Can homemade cashew or other nut milk replace the coconut? I can't have coconut milk due to the high saturated fat – doctor's orders.