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Home / Courses / Main Dish / Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)

By: 👩‍🦳 Linda · Published: 🖨 January 20, 2015 · Updated: 💻May 8, 2021 · 🗨 23 Comments

Recipe ▼

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is a delicious spicy curried noodle soup with a variety of toppings. This is my family’s version found mainly in the Klang Valley and its surrounding areas.

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is a delicious spicy curried noodle soup with a variety of toppings. This is my family's version found mainly in the Klang Valley and its surrounding areas. | MalaysianChineseKitchen.com

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is one of the signature dishes of the Malaysian Chinese community. It comes in various versions from mild to spicy with different toppings, depending on region. The common theme is the coconut milk base curried soup with noodles.

This dish is simply known as curry mee in the northern part of Malaysia. On the island of Penang, the toppings may include coagulated blood cakes, cockles, cuttlefish, and sliced hard boiled eggs. The soup has a whiter/paler color and fried chili paste is added to give it that fiery appearance. In the central Perak region where the Cantonese people with milder palates predominates, fish cakes and yong tau foo (stuffed vegetables) are common toppings. The soup also tends to be lighter in consistency.

Curry Laksa in the Central and Southern Regions

The soup in the central and southern Nyonya laksa culture (i.e. Klang Valley and southwards) is thick and fiery. Toppings include shredded chicken, fried tofu, bean sprouts, mint leaves, and fried chili paste complete with limau kasturi (calamondin, a kind of lime). Home cooks usually add shrimp to the mix. Cockles which was the norm in the old days are seldom ever seen nowadays. In Melaka, daun kesum (polygonum) is often added to the curry soup.

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is a delicious spicy curried noodle soup with a variety of toppings. This is my family's version found mainly in the Klang Valley and its surrounding areas. | MalaysianChineseKitchen.com

Family Recipe

The recipe I am sharing today is a family recipe using curry powder, an ingredient that is almost always found in my mom’s as well as in my own pantry. In the old days, grandma made her own curry paste by grinding the spices using a batu giling (grind stone). I tried but never quite mastered the technique as a kid. Nowadays, batu gilings are a rarity and I do not have one to practice with. Blame it on the blender!


The Noodles in Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)

Fresh noodles are preferred if they are available. I had to use dried yellow noodles as the supply of fresh noodles to the Midwest at this time of the year is erratic. A mix of yellow noodles and beehoon (rice vermicelli) is often used in Curry Laksa. Beehoon is delicious because it easily soaks up all the delicious sauce.

Similar Tools Used in Making This Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

Oster 6-Cup Glass Jar 12-Speed Blender, Brushed Nickel
Skimmer 6″ diameter
Pyrex Prepware 1-Cup Measuring Cup

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is a delicious spicy curried noodle soup with a variety of toppings. This is my family's version found mainly in the Klang Valley and its surrounding areas. | MalaysianChineseKitchen.com
Print Pin Rate
5 from 4 votes

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is a delicious spicy curried noodle soup with a variety of toppings. This is my family's version found mainly in the Klang Valley and its surrounding areas.
Author : Linda Ooi
Course : Noodles
Cuisine : Malaysian
Prep Time 30 minutes minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes minutes
Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 836kcal

Ingredients
 

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil (80ml)
  • 2 bone-in chicken breasts (skin removed)
  • 3 pandan leaves (shredded and knotted)
  • 12 oz bean sprouts (trimmed) (340g)
  • 6 oz beehoon (dried rice vermicelli), soak in warm water for 30 minutes to soften (170g)
  • 12 oz fresh yellow noodles or dried yellow noodles (225g)
  • 8 oz shrimps (peeled and deveined) (225g)
  • 1 can coconut milk (14 oz/400ml)
  • 4 oz deep fried tofu (sliced) (113g)
  • Salt to taste

Spice Paste

  • 5 shallots (peeled and halved)
  • 3 cloves garlic (peeled, and halved)
  • 3 dried chilies (seeded and soaked in hot water to soften)
  • 1 stalk lemongrass (slice bottom third into rings)
  • 1½ inch ginger (peeled and thickly sliced)
  • ½ cup curry powder (50g)

Garnish

  • ½ cucumber (julienned)
  • 3 to 4 sprigs mint leaves (stems removed)
  • 1 lime (cut into wedges)
  • 4 to 6 tsp fried chili paste

Instructions
 

  • Blend all spice paste ingredients with ¼ cup (60ml) water until smooth. Pour mixture into a bowl. Mix with curry powder to form a thick paste.
  • Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir fry spice paste until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add chicken breasts and cook until opaque, about 3 minutes.
  • Pour in 6 cups (1.4 liters) water. Add pandan leaves. Cover and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat and allow it to simmer for 20 minutes.
    Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)-8
  • In the meantime, fill a separate pot half full of water. Bring to a boil. Scald bean sprouts for about 20 seconds. Remove with a metal strainer.
  • Add beehoon (dried rice vermicelli) and cook for 2 minutes. Remove with metal strainer.
  • Cook fresh yellow noodles in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes and dried yellow noodles for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove with metal strainer. Set aside.
    Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)-9
  • Remove chicken breasts from curry soup with tongs. When cool enough to handle, shred meat and discard bones.
  • Lower shrimps into curry soup with a metal strainer. Allow shrimps to cook for 3 to 4 minutes until shrimps curl and turn pink. Remove and set aside.
  • Pour coconut milk into soup. Add deep fried tofu and season with salt. Bring it up to a boil and allow coconut milk to heat through. Turn off heat.
    Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)-10
  • Place a portion of noodles, bean sprouts, some shredded chicken, and shrimps in a bowl. Pour curry soup over noodles and vegetables. Garnish with cucumber and mint leaves.
    Curry Laksa (Curry Mee)-11
  • Serve Immediately with fried chili paste and lime wedges.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 836kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @MalaysianChineseKitchen or tag #MalaysianChineseKitchen

Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is a delicious spicy curried noodle soup with a variety of toppings. This is my family's version found mainly in the Klang Valley and its surrounding areas. | MalaysianChineseKitchen.com
Curry Laksa (Curry Mee) is a delicious spicy curried noodle soup with a variety of toppings. This is my family's version found mainly in the Klang Valley and its surrounding areas. | MalaysianChineseKitchen.com
2.6K shares

Categories: 🗂 Main Dish, Noodles, Nyonya, Video Recipes Tags: 📋 coconut milk, curry

About Linda

Linda is a food writer and photographer who hails from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She now lives in Wyoming, USA. Her other blogs are Roti n Rice and Tea Tattler.

Malaysian Chinese Kitchen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.

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Comments

  1. Charmaine says

    January 21, 2015 at 12:22 am

    An all time favourite of mine. I prefer the Northern style esp, the Penang White Curry Noodle with the pig’s blood.

    Reply
    • Linda says

      January 21, 2015 at 2:12 pm

      They are all pretty good with subtle differences. I usually ask the vendor in Penang to exclude the blood cakes. 😉

      Reply
  2. denise says

    January 25, 2015 at 6:02 am

    Yes! Definitely blame it on the blender 😉 Your curry mee looks fabulous Linda. And how I miss eating blood tofu…

    Reply
    • Linda says

      January 27, 2015 at 5:42 am

      Thanks Denise! I’ll stick with the chicken and shrimps. 😉

      Reply
  3. Dongxing says

    January 26, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    Hi Linda,

    You made it looks SO easy and I believe, from past experience, that it will be exactly that! Thank you for making this video and for sharing the recipe. I will definitely bookmark this to make soon! Good video too!

    Reply
    • Linda says

      January 27, 2015 at 5:45 am

      Thanks DongXing! It is like making chicken curry except that you have to cook the noodles. Love it! 🙂

      Reply
  4. DC says

    April 6, 2015 at 4:17 pm

    Love Curry mee !! One of the many food I enjoy when I return to M’sia. One well known aspect of Curry Mee is the important influence of the Indian cuisine which gives this noodle dish its distint flavour. It’s enjoyed by all cultures but the spices and curry origin comes fr the Indian community.

    Reply
  5. Chloe Ng says

    August 5, 2015 at 1:53 am

    5 stars
    Hi Linda, thanks for the wonderful recipe! I made this few weeks ago and it really reminded me of curry laksa back at home! ~fellow Malaysian in Midwest

    Reply
    • Linda says

      August 5, 2015 at 5:26 pm

      Hi Chloe! So glad to hear you enjoyed the recipe. Nothing like a bowl of curry laksa to remind us of Malaysia. I need to make this again soon. 🙂

      Reply
  6. Joey says

    December 11, 2015 at 1:19 am

    Hi, regarding the shallots, approximately how many grams do you recommend? Shallots come in different sizes here in Portland markets and I’m not sure 5 of the ones I get will be the same as your recipe specifies. Thanks.

    Reply
    • Linda says

      December 12, 2015 at 3:13 am

      The shallots found in the regular grocery stores here in Minnesota are also pretty big. Anywhere between 80g to 100g should be fine.

      Reply
  7. Diana says

    February 18, 2016 at 3:14 pm

    what type of curry powder do you recommend be used?

    Reply
    • Linda says

      March 4, 2016 at 4:42 pm

      My favorite curry powder is Babas curry powder from Malaysia. I also make my own curry powder. If you are in the US, you can use any brand of Madras curry powder. Please check out my Chicken Curry post (with video) on my other blog Roti n Rice for pictures of the curry powder I use in my kitchen.

      Reply
  8. wenghonn says

    June 7, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    I love curry laksa just like the way u are! The deep fry wanton mixed with the rich coconut curry laksa is just simple awesome.

    Reply
    • Linda says

      June 29, 2016 at 3:21 pm

      I am also a big fan of curry yong tau foo noodles. So yummy! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Sofia says

    October 19, 2016 at 4:07 am

    5 stars
    Good morning Linda

    I made this last year and today I am making it again (this time will include the fried tofu that I brought from Malaysia). It was so delicious and easy to make too. This is what I am having for lunch today. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

    Reply
    • Linda says

      October 20, 2016 at 4:04 pm

      You are welcome, Sofia! I am glad you enjoyed the recipe. Now, I am craving for a bowl and need to make this again soon. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Yvette says

    April 13, 2018 at 12:07 am

    5 stars
    Linda,

    Thank you for the lovely curry mee recipe. Hubby loves it.

    Reply
  11. brinacyl says

    August 6, 2018 at 5:32 pm

    I love curry laska! Your recipe looks amazing. I am in london and not sure if i will be able to get fresh pandan leaves. Any advice please? thanks

    Reply
    • Linda says

      October 11, 2018 at 12:07 pm

      Just leave out the pandan leaves.

      Reply
  12. Yoke says

    June 8, 2020 at 8:45 am

    excellent video, thanks

    Reply
  13. Priya Dharsheni Rajarathnam says

    June 26, 2020 at 9:29 pm

    5 stars
    Perfect recipe! My family and I are fans of curry lakes and we love this recipe!

    Reply
    • Linda says

      July 10, 2020 at 5:51 pm

      Thank you! I am glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe.

      Reply

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