The Unauthentic Laksa

Since my last trip back to KL (in which my dad took me to an old favorite hawker and hovered over the poor woman to make sure she increased the amount of tau-foo puffs in my curry laksa since I wouldn’t eat prawns) I have developed an unexplainable obsession for rice noodles and South East Asian spiciness.

These skinny, long, transparent bundles have suddenly made their comeback as Talia’s Carbs of Choice -which according to boohee.com, my newest favorite source of calorie content information-is 346 calories per 100 grams.

I've recently made my own non-authentic version of a laksa (that would probably cause Malaysian hawker food snobs to snicker and point)using pumpkin, tofu and a ready made packet of laksa paste (further jeering).

It actually did taste pretty good, so if you don't want to continue eating seafood based laksa for the rest of your life and want to live a little...

Non-Authentic Vegetarian Laksa
Adapted from Kidspot.com.au

Traditional vs. non-traditional ingredients

This recipe serves 4, -though as my pictures might suggest, I made mine for ONE

400g pumpkin, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
200g rice noodles (I used organic, brown rice vermicelli)

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 tomato, peeled and sliced
1 packet laksa paste (I used the IKAN BRAND Traditional Johor Laksa paste)
1 cup vegetable stock
400ml tin coconut milk
1/2 cup frozen tofu (defrosted and cut into bite sized cubes)
1/2 cup bean sprouts
juice of 1 lime

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Toss pumpkin with vegetable oil and salt. Place on a baking sheet and into the hot oven, and roast for about 15 minutes or until golden.
2. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover the noodles by at least 2.5cm. Set aside to soak for 3-4 minutes, or until softened. Drain with a colander and set aside.
3. In the same large pot, heat 1 teaspoon oil and cook the tomato slices over medium heat for a few minutes to release juices. Add the laksa paste and stock, then bring a boil. Add roasted pumpkin and tofu, allow it to simmer for at least 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.
4. Finally, add the bean sprouts and simmer until almost cooked but still a bit crunchy. Season with lime juice.
5. To serve, divide the rice noodles among 2-4 bowls, ladle the hot soup over. You can garnish it with sliced spring onions and/or coriander leaves if you prefer.

The Not-Very-Authentic, Nor Photogenic but Tasty Bowl of Laksa