Laksa is something that has been on my list of things to make for a good while now and this week I finally got around to it. I love any sort of spicy soup whether it be Tom Yum, Ramen or Pho so I knew I would love this just as much as the rest.

Whilst the ingredients list looks a bit intimidating, a lot of it is store cupboard essentials. Not only that but once the paste is made, the rest is very simple of put together. If you don’t have time to make the paste you could use a shop bought Laksa paste but I guarantee you, the homemade stuff is SO much better!!

You only need half of the quantity of the paste that you get from the below paste ingredients for this dish. The rest can be popped in the fridge and kept for up to 2 weeks. Alternatively it can be frozen or you can do what I did and use it the next day as a marinade for chicken! The world’s your oyster.

Prawn Laksa

Serves 2 = 11sp each (Flex)

For the paste

2 red chillies, roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

1 small onion, roughly chopped

1 stick of fresh lemongrass (woody outer layer and bottom removed) and roughly chopped

3 lime leaves (fresh if you can get them), roughly chopped

1 tbsp fish sauce

½ tsp reduced fat peanut butter

1 tsp each turmeric, ground coriander

1/4 tsp cumin

For the Laksa

100g flat rice noodles (or your favourite type of noodle)

200ml reduced fat coconut milk

Juice of 1 lime

½ tbsp each of soft light brown sugar, fish sauce and dark soy sauce

1/2 chicken stock cube (made up with 400ml of boiling water)

200g king prawns, raw

To serve

Handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

1 chilli, finely chopped

2 spring onions, finely chopped

1 lime, quartered

Method

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.

Put all the ingredients for the paste in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add a little water to loosen the paste as you are blending to make sure it goes nice and smooth.

Next take a non stick sauce pan, heat and spray with low calorie cooking spray and add half the paste (pop the rest back in the fridge). Fry for a few minutes until the aromas start to release then add the coconut milk, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce and chicken stock. Simmer for around 5 minutes (or until your noodles are ready).

Drain the noodles and spilt between two large bowls.

Add the prawns to the laksa sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes until pink and cooked through. Split the prawns and laksa sauce evenly between the two bowls and then top both with a sprinkling of spring onions, chilli and coriander. Serve with a couple of slices of lime.

Enjoy!