This Thai-inspired seafood laksa is a great way to get a fabulous spicy noodle dish on the table quickly, using only one pan and ready in less than 30 minutes. If you like spicy Thai food like I do, then you will LOVE this!
This Seafood Laksa is heaven in a bowl.
A slurpy, splash-orange-coloured-sauce-down-your-white-top-in-enthusiastic-eagerness kind of soup, that makes you look at your husband’s bowl to see if he has any left that you could steal.
That’s how good this soup is. It’s also on the table in less than half an hour.
I first had laksa soup in a Thai restaurant many years ago, and I adored all the flavours and textures. I may have mentioned before that Thai is my favourite kind of food, and seafood laksa is such a great way to get a fabulous meal on the table quickly, using only one pan.
📋 What do we need?
For the Laksa paste
For the Curry and Garnish
📺 Watch how to make it
Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post.
I make my own laksa paste for this recipe. Most store-bought versions are a good alternative, but it’s pretty quick to make your own paste. Plus you can control the heat level.
I like to cook my paste ingredients before blending them. I find that cooking the paste ingredients first, gives the whole dish a deeper level of flavour.
👩🍳PRO TIP You can use ready-cooked vermicelli noodles if you like. Run them under some boiling water in a colander/sieve to heat through before placing in the bowl.
From my research, it seems that most laksa curry/soup recipes, whether from Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand or Indonesia, have the same basis of noodles, with seafood or chicken in a spicy coconut sauce. There’s also a variation called Asam Laksa, that doesn’t use coconut milk, but it uses fish paste and tamarind for a more sour, rather than creamy taste.
Believed to have originated as a combination of Chinese noodle soup (brought over by early Chinese migrants settling in Malacca, Malaysia) and local spices and coconut milk, it falls firmly under the label of Peranakan cuisine.
My version came about when I was pondering what to do with leftover haddock (I’d defrosted too much after making fish burgers and matchstick fries the previous night) and some prawns that I’d forgotten to put back in the freezer.
🍲 More Thai-inspired recipes
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Seafood Laksa
Ingredients
Laksa Paste (note 1):
- 3 tbsp oil
- 1 onion peeled and chopped
- 4 red chillies roughly chopped – I use fresno chillies. Use Thai chillies if you like it really hot
- 2 tsp ginger paste
- 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp lemongrass paste
- 1 heaped tbsp fresh coriander stalks you can use the leaves for garnish later
- 1.5 tsp turmeric
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
Soup:
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 200 ml (7 fl oz) chicken or seafood stock
- 2 cod or haddock fillets (weighing approx 140g/5oz each) or any firm-fleshed white fish, skin removed
- 200 g (7 oz) dried rice/vermicelli noodles or 300g-400g of ready-cooked vermicelli noodles
- 12-16 king prawns peeled and deveined
- 200 g (7 oz) beansprouts mung bean sprouts
Garnish:
- 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 tsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 1 red chilli chopped finely
- 1 finger sized piece of cucumber chopped finely
- ¼ a small red onion peeled and chopped finely
- small handful of chopped coriander (cilantro)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan, and add the chopped onions. Cook on medium for about 5 minutes until the onions soften and start to turn translucent.3 tbsp oil, 1 onion
- Add in the rest of the Laksa paste ingredients, stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.4 red chillies, 2 tsp ginger paste, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp lemongrass paste, 1 heaped tbsp fresh coriander stalks, 1.5 tsp turmeric, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp paprika, 1 tsp tamarind paste
- While the laksa paste ingredients are frying, make the garnish. To a small bowl, add the vinegar, sugar, chilli, cucumber, red onion, and coriander. Stir together, then put to one side.1 tsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tsp caster sugar, 1 red chilli, 1 finger sized piece of cucumber, ¼ a small red onion, small handful of chopped coriander (cilantro)
- Turn off the heat from the frying pan and transfer the onions-chilli-spice mixture to a mini chopper or food processor. Blend together until it forms a paste (alternatively you can use a stick blender to blend the ingredients into a paste directly in the pan, but be careful of splashes)
- Add the laksa paste back into the frying pan.
- Turn the heat to medium-high and add the coconut milk, fish sauce, and stock. Stir together and heat through until just simmering.200 ml (7 fl oz) full-fat coconut milk, 1 tsp fish sauce, 200 ml (7 fl oz) chicken or seafood stock
- Add the fish, stir, and allow to cook for 4 minutes, turning a couple of times, until the fish is starting to fall apart.2 cod or haddock fillets
- While the fish is cooking, soak the noodles in boiling water until soft (this usually takes about 3 minutes) then drain.200 g (7 oz) dried rice/vermicelli noodles
- Coming back to the laksa, add in the prawns, stir, and cook for one minute. The prawns should be starting to turn pink, and your fish should be cooked.12-16 king prawns
- Finally add in the beansprouts and cook for another minute, so they're warmed through, but still slightly crisp. Turn off the heat.200 g (7 oz) beansprouts
- Divide the drained noodles between bowls and spoon the laksa sauce and seafood over the top.
- Top each bowl with a spoonful of the garnish you made earlier, and serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was first published in 2014. Updated in March 2018 and then again in March 2023 with new photos and video plus some housekeeping.
Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
Wow this looks fab. I love Laksa. And seafood? Yes please! I just had to pin it!
Thanks Martina, glad you like it 🙂
Looks delicious!
So happy to have found your blog with Fiesta Friday 😀
Thanks Sarah. I’m loving Fiesta Friday, so much fun 🙂
What a nice dish! I love the flavors and it looks delicious!
Thanks 🙂
Oh is this lovely. So filled with so many spices and flavor!! I must try this one soon. Bookmarking it now! <3
Thanks! Let me know how you get on 🙂
I love all the spices and ingredients you used! I bet this is so full of taste!
Thanks Lori, it was v tasty, I think I might have to make it again this week 🙂
Other than the lemongrass, I think I have everything else needed. Is there something that I could use as a substitute as I’m not able to go shopping right now?
I’d say try the zest of half a lemon or lime. Alternatively you could leave it out and it would still taste great 🙂
This soup really does look delicious, and I appreciate that you have given a straightforward recipe for the laksa paste – a homemade base really does make a difference. That photograph is a winner too. Thanks for joining in the fun at Fiesta Friday and sharing your fab recipe.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Hilda. Glad you liked the photo, I was a little unsure of whether it looked appetising or just a bit too orange coloured. It’s great to get some good feedback 🙂
Nicky, just like you, I love Thai food too – this laksa recipe looks terrific and I can’t wait to try it. The pic is making my mouth water! Terrific and thanks for bringing this to FF #24. 🙂
Thanks for coming and checking out my recipe. Thai food is the best!! I think I could eat it every day of the week! I’ll be nipping back over to FF, so I’m sure I’ll see you there 🙂
Yummm, this looks amazing, I will bookmark to try later. Thanks.
Hope you enjoy it Loretta, thanks for stopping by!
The laksa looks delicious. Planning to try out the vegetarian version of your recipe. Thanks for bringing this to the fiesta, Nicky! 🙂
Ooh sounds fab Ahila. Let me know how it turns out. I’d love to know if you used just the veg’s or if you included tofu or an alternative.