This Is How To Make An Easy Laksa Using Ingredients You Already Have

Are you dying to travel out of the country for some seriously delicious food? If you are, know you're not alone. It may be awhile before we can safely travel, but you can try to recreate your favorite dishes at home.

If Malaysia or Singapore is one of those places you want to visit just so you can have some delicious street-side laksa, you should know that you can make this delicious noodle soup right at home. 

All you need are just a few ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen, plus a few key ingredients to make it taste extra delicious. Here are the ingredients you need to make an easy laksa at home: 

1 Coconut milk (powdered or canned)

The main ingredient of the soup of the laksa is the coconut milk. This is an important ingredient and you just cannot have a laksa without the coconut. What's great about this ingredient is that it is found canned, powdered, or fresh coconut milk from the palengke. Use what you have available because you'll need this. 

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Photo by Riell Santos

2 Garlic chili paste or oil  

The laksa would not be the same if it didn't have any heat to the broth. But since we have a limited number of ingredients, you can use garlic chili paste or oil that you have on your tabletop or cabinet, especially if you love all things spicy and crunchy. This will give your laksa a delicious heat that's not just spicy but is also flavorful. 

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Photo by Bianca Laxamana

3 Bagoong  

The flavor of the soup will need some saltiness and instead of relying purely on salt, we turn to a more flavorful, more umami-packed ingredient instead: bagoong. What's great about using this condiment is that it's not just salty, but it's also briny from the shrimp and can be both sweet and spicy, too. The sweet bagoong is perfect for giving your laksa that sweet-salty milky flavor while the spicy version can amp up the heat a little bit more for those who love even more heat.

No bagoong? Then, use a shrimp bouillon cube or granules to give it that briny flavor.   

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Photo by jwvein from Pixabay

4 Curry powder or paste

Not everyone has laksa paste. For those who didn't visit the international section of their major supermarket or don't have an Asian grocery nearby, grab the curry powder or paste instead. This is going to give your soup the delicious spice flavor that makes it so addictive. You can use the mellow yellow powder, the milder green paste, or use the spicy red paste that might make the garlic chili oil or paste unnecessary. You can even use a combination of these curry pastes and powders to make it taste just the way you like it. 

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Photo by Aldwin Aspillera

5 Pechay, cabbage, or bean sprouts

Once you have the broth, you're going to need to do something to eat in the soup! This is where your visit to the local palengke or recent vegetable delivery will come in handy. Do you have pechay, cabbage, or even bean sprouts? You just need a handful or two to bulk up this coconut soup! Finely shred the cabbage or pechay or grab a handful of togue for your laksa.

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Photo by Bianca Laxamana

6 Bihon or any rice noodles 

It's not a noodle soup without noodles! For the laksa, traditionally it's made with flat rice noodles but any rice noodles will work, too! Got bihon? Use that since it's a thin rice noodle that works perfectly in soups just like sotanghon will, too. Just follow the instructions on how to prepare and soften the noodles and add these in when the soup is piping hot. These noodles only need a few minutes to cook in the hot soup. 

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That's it! Put these ingredients together to taste, and you've got a delicious bowl of laksa that could be just as satisfying as one from an instant cup. You can even make it more appetizing by adding some extra ingredients you might have on hand, too.

Want toppings? We suggest some squid or fish balls, shredded chicken, peeled shrimps, coriander and basil leaves, and some lime wedges or calamansi to give your almost instant dish a brightness and tang.     

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