Nick’s Community Kitchen: Seafood Laksa Recipe
To keep a smile on our followers’ faces and to boost our own morale, we’ve launched a new online series with our Executive Chef Nick Hodges – “Nick’s Community Kitchen”. Every few days via our Facebook page, Nick will be demonstrating some simple but delicious and fun dishes for you all to try at home. And every Friday evening, we’ve partnered with our friends at WestCountry, who are offering next day delivery of their grocery boxes to your doorstep here.
Please click here to view our Facebook videos.
This Friday evening we bring you…
NICK’S seafood laksa recipe
Nick says: “This dish promises a fragrant taste of Thailand. It can be as hot or mild as you like – just alter the chilli to your taste. It can be made with white meats or just vegetables, I absolutely love it! For a good laksa you need to be organised. Get all your ingredients ready – most of this can be done beforehand. This seafood laksa recipe makes four good portions.”
WHAT YOU NEED:
The fish
- 250g squid tubes, 5cm pieces
- 250g monkfish fillet, skinned (5cm pieces) or similar white fish like cod
- 12 raw tiger prawns, peeled with veins removed
- 1kg mussels (optional) cleaned/beards removed
The laksa paste
- 1 lime, juice and zest
- 1 medium red chilli, halved and de seeded
- 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
- 5cm fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- Handful of fresh coriander (keep some back for garnish)
- 40ml sesame oil
Blend all ingredients together to make a paste, add a drop of the stock if it helps to blend
The sauce and vegetables
- 400ml can of coconut milk
- 1½ pints fresh fish or vegetable stock
- 200g dried vermicelli rice noodles
- 170g sugar snap peas
- 50ml Thai fish sauce (nam pla) – not needed for vegetarian or vegan
- Handful of fresh mint and basil leaves (washed and chopped)
- Bunch spring onions, thinly sliced
- 2 heads of pak choi (wash and chop one at the last moment, and cut the other into quarters)
GETTING IT DONE:
Cooking the laksa is quick and easy. There are 8 steps – be ready to do one after the other…
- In a wok or saucepan fry the paste until it starts to soften
- Add the stock, simmer for 2-3 minutes, taste. Add more chilli if you like it hot!
- Add the fish and the noodles, simmer for another 2-3 minutes
- Add the coconut milk, bring back to the simmer
- Add the green ingredients, herbs, vegetables and onion
- Literally simmer for another minute and you are there
- Taste again, check the fish is cooked. Season if required
- Serve in bowls – garnish with the remaining ripped coriander
We’d love to see how you’ve been getting on in your own home kitchen. Please send in a photo of your creations to marketing@greenbank-hotel.co.uk, for your chance to be crowned our “Community Kitchen Champion.” Our winner will receive a gift voucher for the Water’s Edge restaurant, to be enjoyed when we’re back on our feet.
