Vegan Laksa – Malaysian Curry Laksa Soup Recipe. Homemade Laksa paste with Fresh Turmeric Root. Warming, spicy, flavorful soup for fall and winter. Curry Laksa Recipe. Vegan Gluten-free Soy-free. Pin it for later.
The past weekend was predicted to be filled with big storms, rain, wind, all grey and no sun. The forecast models were not entirely correct though, so we had some rain, some wind and some sun too. No one is complaining :). The temps are dropping however and the only thing I want to do is a curl up with a bowl of soup and listen to some holiday theme novels (audio books).
This Laksa curry is super flavorful, anti inflammatory and delightful. The paste can be made at home and used whenever you want a bowl of the soup or a quick stir fry. Use whatever ingredients you have in the paste and make this curry laksa with noodles or more veggies or crisped up panfried tofu. The spices are toasted then blended or processed with herbs, aromatics, fresh turmeric root and some cashews. The paste is roasted in a little oil to release the flavors, then mushrooms and veggies and cooked for a few. The broth, coconut milk and noodles are brought to a boil and simmered until the noodles are tender and the soup thickens a bit to preference. Fold in some greens, mint and cilantro and serve. Fresh turmeric root adds the bright color to this laksa paste. Use ground turmeric if you cannot find the fresh root. Also try this turmeric root ginger root tea for the fall blues. Turmeric stains, so work carefully whether using fresh or dry.
More soups to try from the blog
This easy creamy filling Broccoli Slaw Soup, Turkish lentil soup, 15 min Indian Spiced tomato Soup, Curried Butternut Squash Soup with toasted pepitas or Mushroom chickpea greens soup.
What are you cooking up this fall?
Golden gorgeous Homemade Laksa Curry paste.
Add veggies of choice to this filling and warming Laksa soup.
Vegan Laksa - Malaysian Curry Laksa Soup Recipe
Ingredients
Laksa Paste:
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) fennel or cumin seeds
- 1 inch fresh turmeric root peeled if needed(or use 1 tsp or more ground turmeric)
- 1 inch fresh ginger root peeled if needed
- 1 green chile
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) cayenne or use paprika + cayenne
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp raw cashews soaked for 15 mins, use almonds or pepitas for cashew-free
- a good handful of cilantro with tender stems
- 1 tsp lime juice
Laksa Curry Soup:
- 1 tsp oil
- Laksa curry paste from above
- 2 cups (192 g) sliced white mushrooms
- 3/4 cup (96 g) sliced carrots
- 1/2 to 1 cup (91 g) other veggies of choice sliced or chopped small, such as bell peppers, zucchini, broccoli etc
- 3 cups (705 ml) veggie broth or water
- 13.5 oz (382.72 ml) can coconut milk about 1.5 cups
- 6 to 8 oz (6 oz) brown rice noodles uncooked
- 1 cup (30 g) of chopped spinach or chard
- salt and cayenne to taste
- sugar or sweetener if needed
- cilantro mint for garnish
Instructions
Make the paste:
- Toast the coriander and fennel seeds for 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add to a blender or spice grinder and grind to a coarse mixture.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until pasty. Add a tbsp or so water if needed. The paste can be refrigerated for upto a week and frozen for longer..
Make the soup:
- Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add all of the curry paste (1/3 to 1/2 cup) and fry for 3 minutes. Stir occasionally. If using premade paste, use a 1/3 cup.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the veggies, broth and coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low. Add in the rice noodles and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes.
- Fold in the spinach and chard. Taste and adjust salt and heat. I usually add a bit of salt or soy sauce, lime juice and some sugar at this point. Add more coconut milk if needed. Simmer for another few minutes. Garnish with fresh cilantro, mint, bean sprouts or crisped tofu and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Reading for the week:
Most elephants that are rescued from circus, entertainment, logging, begging industries, never had the chance to form friendships — living in chains, often alone, deprives them of the simple joy of bonding with other elephants. These elephants develop deep bonds at the rescue centers at Wildlife SOS. Find out how you can support the expansion of the conservation center and the road to rescuing India’s elephants here.
This article on how what we choose to eat is affecting the planet. A comprehensive study that analyzed the “cradle-to-grave” carbon footprint (emissions generated before and after the food leaves the farm), lists the numbers – lamb generates 86.4 pounds of CO2 per kilogram eaten, beef creates 59.6 pounds, cheese produces 29.7 pounds, while lentils (1.98 pounds), broccoli (4.4 pounds) and tomatoes (2.42 pounds). Also this video.
More than 43 million gallons of excess of milk got dumped this year in 2016, in fields, manure lagoons or animal feed. That is enough milk to fill 66 Olympic swimming pools, and the most wasted in at least 16 years of data requested by The Wall Street Journal. Why? Because the demand is falling, supply isnt.
A Cow’s Life – Draw my Life animation
Brooklyn Murtaugh says
October 17, 2016 at 10:12 pmYum this looks so warm, filling and delicious!
I can’t wait to try it out.
Richa says
October 18, 2016 at 11:28 amThanks!
Susanne says
October 18, 2016 at 3:17 amWonderful and simple. Just what I needed. Thank you.
yas says
October 18, 2016 at 4:51 pmWe made this today (with sunflower seeds instead of cashews because I’m allergic to nuts), and it was awesome! =) Thank you! It was hard to keep leftovers for tomorrow because we loved it so much 🙂
Richa says
October 20, 2016 at 10:41 amAwesome! so glad it turned out so well!
Cassie Autumn Tran says
October 20, 2016 at 4:00 pmLooks so delicious–I have to try this with shirataki noodles or even chickpea pasta!
Charl says
October 21, 2016 at 10:51 amHas anyone tried replacing coconut milk with other non-dairy milk ?
Richa says
October 21, 2016 at 10:53 amYou can use other non dairy milks. it tastes best with coconut milk though.
Karen says
October 23, 2016 at 11:48 amDelicious. Now I know what laksa is! Used tumeric powder because I couldn’t find the root at my local store. Lucky for me a friend had just given me some home grown lemon grass.
We love these easy AND yummy week night meals.
Ellen Lederman says
October 24, 2016 at 12:36 pmI loved this! Followed it exactly, even with the fresh turmeric. Well worth it to make homemade paste. Used red pepper, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, and Swiss chard. Almost an entire rainbow in the bowl! (I was attempted to use purple cabbage, but refrained, so just had blackberries afterwards.) This recipe is a keeper! Thanks so much.
Richa says
October 24, 2016 at 3:21 pmAwesome! so glad it turned out well!
Chely C says
November 3, 2016 at 1:04 pmI just made this (a full recipe of the paste and halved the soup). Used ground turmeric. This was so tasty, easy and quick. The halved recipe is supposed to serve 2, but I barely left any leftovers. This was a wonderful hint of brightness to a rainy and gloomy day. Thank you!
Emily Brooks says
November 14, 2016 at 6:07 amIs the jarred/pickled lemongrass or lime leaves ever ok to use as a sub (or for anything?) 🙂
Richa says
November 14, 2016 at 9:51 amjarred with water or oil would work.
Janine says
November 22, 2016 at 7:53 pmYum, just finished eating it and will make it again for sure. Hubby loved it!!
Richa says
November 23, 2016 at 12:27 pmyay!
Nick says
December 5, 2016 at 7:37 pmGreat in theory , food processor is a MUST for the paste as I learned the hard way . Looking forward to making this in the future again with the paste actually coming out correctly
Richa says
December 5, 2016 at 10:22 pmi use a small blender. a bit of coaxing and a tbsp of water help.
Ella says
January 2, 2017 at 12:27 amI added some water and my vitamix puréed it. Worked beautifully! Very flavoursome and enough left for a second batch.
Aimee says
January 7, 2017 at 10:14 amWhat is a good substitute for lemongrass? My grocery store did not have it. 🙁
Richa says
January 7, 2017 at 12:35 pma bit more lemon and ground coriander.
Sri says
January 16, 2017 at 8:51 pmI have made this twice so far, with some variations. I skipped garlic and the veggie broth both times but it turned out great. The combination of the various spices and herbs in the paste makes the dish so fresh and nourishing. Bookmarked!
Iris says
May 11, 2017 at 5:54 pmWow, this was really delicious!!
Gigi says
July 1, 2017 at 10:12 pmThis was the best soup we’ve ever made! My 9 yr old said, “This is #1 on our soup list!” I made it exactly as shown here once, and then the second time I replaced the cilantro w/basil; just as good! Thank you!
Mary says
July 18, 2017 at 7:28 pmWe made this last night with macadamia nuts because we get them easily in Australia. It was delicious and our daughters who were recently in Malaysia said it was like the laksa in KL. it can be hard to find ready-made laksa paste that doesn’t have shrimp paste in it. Thanks for the great recipe.
Richa says
July 18, 2017 at 11:42 pmAwesome!
Harini Sankar says
August 26, 2017 at 3:57 amMade this for my mum cuz she was feeling a little down and couldn’t cook. I added a tad bit more sugar than I wanted by accident but otherwise it was perfect! Thanks!
Richa says
August 26, 2017 at 11:56 pmAwesome!
Natalia says
September 5, 2017 at 12:02 pmThe soup was delicious, but turned out more like a stew, extremely thick, noodles absorbed all the liquid and thickened what remained. It was still amazing though!
Richa says
September 7, 2017 at 11:17 pmMaybe the type of noodles absorb more. Add more water and heat up a bit.
Daisy says
April 8, 2018 at 2:42 amThis was wonderful and flavoursome, the noodles soaked up much of the liquid so was more like a thick stew. I will half the noodles next time and add more veggies! Thank you for such a yummy healthy vegan laksa, will definitely go on our regular dinner list!
Richa says
April 8, 2018 at 11:24 amAwesome! you can add more coconut milk when reheating.
Kat R says
September 28, 2018 at 11:04 pmThis is truly delicious. I made the paste with a mortar and pestle as my blender is quite big — made it more authentic!! 😂😂 As an ex-Malaysian living in Australia, this is super authentic tasting and the best laksa I’ve had, even compared to the shop ones. Thank you so much.
Joel says
November 20, 2018 at 12:34 amNot sure what happened as i closely followed the recipe but my paste came out green and tasting more like green curry paste. Looked nothing like the featured photos 🙁
Richa says
November 20, 2018 at 9:08 pmoh no, I am guessing turmeric was not enough or more cilantro made it more green. That’s ok and I hope you liked what you made! Green curry is a great flavor too 🙂
Joel says
November 20, 2018 at 9:11 pmIt was still lovely 🙂
Haeli says
January 1, 2019 at 5:39 pmThis was DELICIOUS, I double the recipe and added lots of bok choy, kale, topped with bean sprouts. Perfect amount of heat for me as well. Will definitely be making this on the regular — easy to make up the paste in large batches and keep in the freezer as well 😊
Richa says
January 1, 2019 at 10:50 pmyay!
Lena says
March 1, 2019 at 6:15 pmHi Richa!
I love trying your recipes!
Do I have to do anything to the lemongrass stalk? Or just use it whole? I’ve never cooked with lemongrass before.
Trina says
March 16, 2019 at 6:46 pmThis soup is easy to make and delicious. I definitely will be making this regularly.
Thank you for sharing with us.
Richa says
March 17, 2019 at 12:11 amthanks!
Phindile says
June 4, 2019 at 10:50 amI made this recipe for meatless Monday and I loved it. I didn’t have wheat grass though so I didn’t use it and I made my own coconut milk. Also used cumin powder instead of seeds and it was the bomb! Thank you.
Richa says
June 4, 2019 at 11:02 amawesome!
Heather says
July 15, 2019 at 6:22 pmReally enjoyed this recipe! It was quite simple and pretty quick to make. I subbed lemon zest for the lemongrass because I couldn’t find any at Whole Foods. I also added 3 tbsp of hemp seeds to the paste and blended it in for more protein. For vegetables I kept it simple with carrots, zucchini, and bell pepper along with the mushrooms and spinach. I didn’t use vegetable broth, so I added in about 1 3/4 tsp of salt. That seemed to be JUST right!
Thank you for sharing!
Richa says
July 15, 2019 at 9:02 pmawesme!
AV says
August 20, 2019 at 7:32 pmTried this and it was so so good! Will be making this again!!
Richa says
August 20, 2019 at 8:13 pmawesome!
Sarah says
August 21, 2019 at 1:35 pmabsolutely delicious! such amazing flavor and who doesn’t like a noodle soup? can’t wait to make it again! thank you!
Richa says
August 21, 2019 at 2:09 pmyay
Maneesha says
October 14, 2019 at 5:09 amSuch a delicious recipe! Thanks, Richa! Comes together so quickly, and so healthy too with all the veggies! I just got a new gas stove cooktop, and this was the first dish I trialed on it! Such a win! I love your recipes – you are a culinary guru!
Richa says
October 14, 2019 at 11:56 amawesome! Thanks!
Lou says
October 17, 2019 at 1:41 pmOne of my all time favourite recipes. This is truly superb. Thank you!
Richa says
October 17, 2019 at 1:43 pmThanks!
Lou says
October 28, 2019 at 4:43 amThis looks so delicious and I’d love to try it. I’m not fond of lemongrass … would you suggest I leave it out totally or substitute it with something else?
Richa says
October 28, 2019 at 10:28 amyes leave it out. Add more lime to taste later
Pat says
February 28, 2020 at 9:37 amThe recipe looks really good. I have a question about the turmeric root. Will it forever change the color of my vitamix container?
Richa says
February 28, 2020 at 12:26 pmi havent had that problem
AV says
June 3, 2020 at 2:27 pmLeave it out in the sun to destain it.
Pat says
June 3, 2020 at 3:52 pmGreat idea! Thanks!
Himaya says
April 14, 2020 at 4:45 amHi Richa,
I love this recipe and tried it out last night for dinner, it turned out great but putting in the raw rice noodles caused the soup to get very thick. Any tips on how I can avoid that?
Thanks!
Vegan Richa Support says
April 19, 2020 at 10:15 pmHi Himaya! thanks; I suggest increasing the broth/water by 1 cup.
Carina says
June 5, 2020 at 9:22 amHi! I just started making this & i’m so excited to see how it turns out! I just wanted to check if I blend the rest of the ingredients of the paste with the fennel & coriander seeds that I ground to a coarse texture or if I do them both separately & then combine layer. Thank you!
Richa says
June 5, 2020 at 7:05 pmI add them to the same blender. Should have mentioned that.
Tiziana says
June 20, 2020 at 2:27 pmAbsolutely delicious!
Vegan Richa Support says
June 20, 2020 at 6:51 pmawesome!!! thank you
Hannah says
September 9, 2020 at 1:58 amI am planning to make this this week. With the recipe as is would it be considered ‘hot’ spicy or more just a warming, mild spice? I am a weakling.
Vegan Richa Support says
September 9, 2020 at 7:23 pmits definitely a nice warming feel, but for you i would recommend using paprika and only a 1/4 tsp cayenne. you wont even notice the heat with that amount, enjoy – let me know how it turns out
Sophie says
November 29, 2020 at 1:20 amDelicious!! Like all your other recipes it’s fantastic!
Vegan Richa Support says
November 29, 2020 at 3:12 pmamazing! thanks for stopping by