Prawn & Coconut Milk Laksa

📝 Ingredients

• 150 g dried rice vermicelli
• 300 g raw peeled prawns (thawed if frozen)
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 2 tbsp red curry paste
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped, and 15 g fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp neutral oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (nuoc mam)
• 1 tsp sugar
• 150 g fresh bean sprouts, rinsed
• 1 lime
• 1 small bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced (optional)

🍴 Utensils

• Casserole dish or large saucepan
• Kettle
• Mixing bowl
• Colander
• Spatula
• Ladle

📖 Steps

1. Put the rice vermicelli in the bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to stand for 4 to 5 minutes, until tender. Drain, rinse under cold water to stop the cooking and divide between two large bowls.
2. Heat the oil in the casserole over a medium heat. Fry the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds, then add the curry paste and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until very fragrant and the oil starts to turn red.
3. Pour in about a third of the coconut milk and stir for 1 minute to fully dissolve the curry paste: the mixture should become smooth and slightly glossy. Then add the stock, the rest of the coconut milk, the fish sauce and the sugar.
4. Bring to a simmer and cook gently for 10 minutes over a low heat, without letting it boil hard, as the coconut milk could split. Taste and adjust with the juice of half a lime: the broth should be creamy, salty, slightly sweet and tangy.
5. Drop the prawns into the simmering broth and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until they turn pink and curl into a "C". Don't cook them any longer or they will turn rubbery.
6. Ladle the piping-hot broth and prawns over the vermicelli. Top with bean sprouts, coriander leaves and sliced chilli, then serve with the other half of the lime cut into wedges.