Making your own coconut milk Put the coconut flesh and water in a blender and mix until you have a white, creamy liquid (coconut milk). For 4 portions, take 400 ml of this and set aside for later use.
If you have some coconut milk left over, you can either add it to the soup or use it for other dishes.
The original recipe uses full-fat canned coconut milk. We have deliberately avoided using any processed products. Motivation (apple symbol) and link to the original recipe can be found directly above the recipe picture.
Preparing the ingredients Cut the mushrooms and carrots into thin slices. Finely dice the broccoli and roughly chop the spinach. Chop the coriander (or mint).
As an alternative to spinach, you can also use chard.
Preparation of Laksa Curry Soup Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the laksa curry paste and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the carrots, broccoli, vegetable stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil. This will take about 10 minutes.
As an alternative to broccoli, you can also use peppers or zucchini. Alternatively to vegetable stock, you can also use water. The author uses full-fat coconut milk.
In the original recipe, the author uses safflower oil instead of rapeseed oil and vegetable stock instead of the vegan vegetable stock.
Reduce the heat to a moderately low setting. Add the rice noodles and simmer gently for about 10 minutes.
For a Laksa, you traditionally use a certain type of rice noodles (see tips). The author recommends 170-225 g of rice noodles.
Mix in the spinach. Taste and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper. Add lime juice and sugar as needed. Mix in more coconut milk if necessary. Let simmer gently for a few more minutes.
The author recommended a splash of lime juice for 4 servings.
serving To serve, optionally add some crispy tofu to each portion (page 243 of the same book) and finally sprinkle with coriander and bean sprouts.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
The healthy version of the Asian Laksa curry soup with mushrooms, broccoli, carrot and coconut milk is aromatic and healthy.
Preparation time: Please note that the preparation time does not include the time required to prepare the laksa curry paste.
New nutrient profile: According to GDA guidelines, one portion of this recipe covers the average daily requirement of vitamin K and vitamin C.Manganese, copper, vitamin A and folic acid are covered by over 50%. Thanks to our adjustments, we were able to reduce the salt content to 20% without having to accept any loss of taste, which would be expected if water were used instead of the stock.
Laksa: Laksa is a Southeast Asian soup from Malaysia and Singapore. There are numerous variations such as Penang Laksa (Malaysian) or Katong Laksa (Singaporean), although the basic ingredients and pastes differ. The paste we chose is used to make curry laksa.
Laksa curry paste: Laksa curry paste contains fresh ginger, turmeric, cumin, chili and lemongrass, among other things. Curcumin, one of the orange-yellow pigments in turmeric, has many beneficial health effects, such as anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidant potential. Fresh turmeric has a resinous, slightly burning taste; when dried, it tastes milder and slightly bitter. The ginger rhizome has an aromatic smell and a sharp, spicy taste, which is due to the substance gingerol, which is said to have anticarcinogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. The substances borneol and cineol give ginger its digestive, antiemetic and circulatory stimulating properties. Despite the similar name, cumin is not closely related to carawayand also differs greatly in taste. Ground cumin has a fresh and slightly spicy aroma, which it owes to the cuminaldehyde contained in the essential oil. Lemongrass develops its lemony taste best when eaten fresh. Essential oils are responsible for the intense scent.
Tips
Prepare Laksa paste yourself: It is best to prepare the paste yourself. You can find a recipe at the following link and on page 129 of the same book. The paste can be frozen for up to 2 months and is therefore easy to prepare in advance. Alternatively, you can also buy Laksa curry paste in any Asian supermarket. However, the composition varies and so do the ingredients.
Turmeric can stain: Be careful when using Laksa curry paste. The fresh turmeric it contains stains extremely strongly. Turmeric can also permanently stain light-colored kitchen utensils yellow.
Laksa noodles: The type of rice noodles used varies depending on the type of laksa. Traditionally, rice noodles are used that are similar in thickness to spaghetti.
Alternate preparation
Vary the ingredients: You can use zucchini or peppers or other vegetables instead of broccoli. The crispy tofu (recipe page 243) is a classic laksa ingredient.
ClassicAsian Laksa: For a classicAsian Laksa, you use candelnuts, also known as light nuts or Indian walnuts, instead of cashews. The laksa leaves, which are responsible for the characteristic taste, have been replaced in this recipe with lots of coriander, which gives the laksa paste a greenish color. In the classic Laksa, the paste is red due to dried shrimps and both fresh and dried red chili. In addition to the ingredients listed, the conventional paste also uses galangal.
