Peranakan laksa dry noodles with fishcakes & vegetables!
Circuit breaker home lunch — Peranakan laksa dry noodles with fishcakes and vegetables. The dry-style laksa with coconut paste tossed through.
Friday lunch at home with BB — circuit breaker mode means we work through the supermarket sambal-paste aisle one day at a time. Today’s project: Peranakan dry laksa noodles with fishcakes and vegetables.
We made:
- Peranakan dry laksa noodles (rice vermicelli + laksa coconut paste)
- Sliced fishcakes (pan-fried)
- Stir-fried mixed vegetables
Total cooking time: ~25 minutes.
Dry laksa is the under-rated cousin of the iconic soupy laksa. Same coconut-curry paste base — lemongrass, candlenut, dried prawns, sambal, turmeric, blue ginger — but instead of being thinned into broth, the paste is reduced into a thick coating and tossed through cooked noodles. The result is concentrated laksa flavour without the liquid.
Rice vermicelli (bee hoon) was the noodle base, boiled briefly to soften then drained. Laksa paste (a tub from the supermarket — we use the Prima Taste version which is reliable) was fried in oil with extra coconut milk until the colour deepened and the aroma went rich. Noodles tossed in, coated through, finished with chopped daun kesum (laksa leaves) if we had any.
Fishcakes were sliced rounds, pan-fried in a dry pan until both sides got golden-brown char. They added the savoury bouncy protein bite.
Stir-fried mixed vegetables — long beans, beansprouts, carrot, sliced garlic — done quickly in the wok with a touch of soy and oyster sauce. Light side dish to balance the rich laksa.
The whole bowl works because the dry laksa coating sticks to every strand without the dilution of broth. Eat it with a spoonful of chilli on the side.
Overall: 4.2 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid lockdown home laksa — would keep cooking this rotation.
