Jade: Bitemylaksa

My friend made the most amazing curry laksa a few nights back. I tried so hard to eat it as slowly as I could..and when it was all gone, I licked the bowl clean..and when there was nothing left, I was sad.. I love a good laksa. Coming from a country where each state has their own brand of laksa and I don't mean slapping a different name on what is essentially the same bowl of noodles; from the tangy, fish and tamarind based Penang Laksa to the richer Sarawak Laksa~thick, coconuty broth jazzed up with fiery sambal and a squeeze of lime, each type of laksa is so delightfully unique.. a perfect reflection of local cultures..What can I say..I'm a lucky, lucky girl ;)

Now that I'm here though...there are times..only about 5 times a day..when I get mad cravings for a scaldingly hot bowl of spicy laksa. I could just go to this hole-in-the-wall Malaysian restaurant in town, but now that it's gotten to the point where I have only to walk through the door for the chef to shout: 'yes, yes, curry laksa!', I figure it's time to sort myself out. So when I saw a recipe for pumpkin laksa on Masak-masak, I just HAD to head into the kitchen.

Roasted Butternut squash and seafood laksa~[adapted from Masak-masak who adapted it from Nigel Slater..*shockhorror* ang moh making laksa! what to do..I am that desperate]

Spice paste

2-3 cili padi [or normal chilli]

2 cloves garlic

About an inch of galanghal

2 stalks lemongrass

a handful coriander leaves, stems included [the recipe called for coriander root but I had no idea what that was so..]

2 tablespoons sesame oil

400ml chicken or vegetable stock

400ml coconut milk

350g butternut squash, peeled, cut into chunks and roasted at 180 degrees for about 45 minutes. [ original recipe said steamed pumpkin...no pumpkin, no steamer..improvise]

3-4 tablespoons Thai fish sauce

Mixed seafood[ so prawns, mussels, fish...whatever makes you happy]

light soy sauce to taste

juice of 1 lime

Egg noodles

Rice noodles [ you could choose to use either, but I used both~egg noodles for body, and rice noodles to soak up the flavours of all those gorgeous spices.]

1. Blend ingredients for spice paste

2. Heat up some oil and fry spice paste till fragrant

3. Add coconut milk and stock, bring to boil

4. Add roasted squash and simmer gently for a few minutes

5. Season with fish sauce, soy and lime

6. Blanch seafood in laksa gravy~ I used pre-cooked seafood, so if you're using fresh, just dump them in the pot and simmer for a few minutes

7. Arrange noodles in bowl, ladle laksa gravy over it, garnish with some fresh coriander and mint or basil, chili flakes, and a spritz of lime.......What are you waiting for? Slurp!;)