Chicken Laksa

Chicken Laksa

I made this last night when it was snowing outside. It is a great healthy alternative to an oriental ready meal or take-away and really quick to make. It contains hardly any fat and if you want to reduce the fat content even further you can use "light" coconut milk.

Also you can vary the vegetables and use prawns instead of chicken. I used baby sweetcorn and red pepper but you can also add mangetout and beansprouts.

1 tbsp cooking oil

1 bunch of spring onions- thinly sliced

1 red pepper - diced

Laksa paste ( 1 tablespoon - or more if you like a hotter soup) - you can buy this ready made from good supermarkets ( I got mine in Waitrose).

1 litre vegetable or chicken stock

400 ml can of coconut milk

400g skinless chicken breast ( thinly sliced)

100g baby sweetcorn or canned sweetcorn kernals

200g thick rice noodles

Chopped coriander, mint, lime juice wedges to serve

Crispy fried onions or shallots.( you can make these by frying some onions or shallots until crispy, or you can buy them ready fried from Asian stores, I actually bought mine in Ikea).

Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the spring onions and pepper over a gentle heat until soft.

Add the laksa paste to taste and allow to cook slowly for a couple of minutes.

Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the chicken and vegetables and allow to  cook for 5 more minutes until the chicken and vegetables are cooked.

Meanwhile cook the noodles in boiling water for about 5 minutes until just tender. Then drain rinse 

 with cold water and leave aside.

To serve place the cooked noodles in a warmed bowl and ladle over the sou.

Sprinkle with chopped, coriander and mint and sprinkle with the crispy onions. Squeeze over the lime juice to taste.