FODMAP friendly vegan laksa with zucchini noodles
Gluten free, grain free, vegan, FODMAP friendly, nut free Serves 4
Ingredients
For the laksa paste:
- 4-5 bullet or birdseye red chillies seeds removed and finely chopped
- 1 red chilli seeds removed and finely chopped
- 30 g galangal or ginger galangal is much preferred finely grated
- 6-10 small fresh curry leaves, finely chopped (available at Asian grocers and major Australian supermarkets)
- 20 g fresh turmeric finely grated
- 3 teaspoons finely grated lemongrass I buy pre-grated bulk lemongrass at my Asian grocer because I despise grating lemongrass
- 2 teaspoons coriander seeds or coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon Tamari
- table salt, to your tastes
- 20ml (1 tablespoon)* vegetable oil
To make into laksa:
- 1000ml (4 cups)* low FODMAP vegan stock there’s a recipe in my book or you can buy FODMAP friendly stock powder at your health food store or supermarket – Massell make a FODMAP friendly stock cube in Australia
- 1 X 400 ml can of full fat coconut milk no additives, I like TCC brand
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar or coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste optional (I like it both with and without)
For the salt and pepper tofu:
- 1 X 400 g packet of extra firm tofu well drained beforehand (see introduction)
- 2 teaspoons gluten free cornflour or potato starch
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
- vegetable oil for shallow frying
To finish the laksa:
- 1 medium zucchini per person made into noodles
- 1 bunch of Chinese broccoli or whatever vegetables you’d like to add
- Thai basil and Vietnamese mint or your preferred herb
- Chopped chillies to taste
- Lime wedges
Instructions
To make the laksa:
- Add all the ingredients for the curry paste except the Tamari, salt and oil into a medium-large mortar and pestle, or a food processor that can blend small volumes of curry paste. Continue to pound or blend until a smooth paste forms.
- Add the remaining ingredients, and continue to mix until smooth.
- Place a large heavy bottomed skillet or a large wok onto a medium heat. Add a tablespoon of vegetable oil, and once it is warm, add the curry paste. Lower the heat and cook for 5 or so minutes until fragrant. Add the brown sugar, and continue cooking for a few minutes.
- Add the stock to the curry paste, and return to a medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes until the flavours have melded together. Add the coconut milk, brown sugar and tamarind and continue to cook for an additional 10 or so minutes over a low heat.
To make the salt and pepper tofu:
- While the laksa broth is cooking, place a non-stick saucepan over a medium high heat, and just cover the base of the saucepan with the vegetable oil. Allow it to heat until it is hot, shimmery and sizzly. Too early for oil adjectives sorry.
- Chop the drained tofu into bite sized pieces. Combine the cornflour, salt and pepper in a large bowl, and toss the tofu pieces in the mixture until they are all well coated.
- In batches (this will depend on the size of your saucepan) cook the tofu on all 4 sides until well browned. Remove from the pan once cooked, and set on some kitchen paper or a cooling rack. Continue until you have cooked all the tofu.
To assemble:
- A couple of minutes before serving, cook your vegetables. If you’re using Chinese broccoli or a pak choi type vegetable, you can steam them in a separate pot beforehand, or just cook them in the laksa and wait a few extra minutes.
- Add the zucchini noodles last, and cook for a minute or so until they are just softening. Whether you like them crunchy or soft is up to you.
- Divide the mixture between 4 large bowls (it may make more depending on how many vegetables you add) and top each bowl with crispy tofu, herbs, chillies, and whatever else you’d like to garnish with. Serve immediately.
- You can freeze the laksa if you’d like, but I’d recommend freezing either the paste, or the soup without the zucchini noodles and tofu. Those are best fresh.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!