Laksa, a bowl of hearty, soupy, comfort with flavors so amazing that it makes your mouth water even at the thought of it.
I was looking for ways to incorporate more vegetables into my family’s diet and if you are looking to do so too, you are in the right place. I am a firm believer that cooking shouldn’t take away precious time with your family. So I am always on the lookout for quick, very healthy, flavor packed dishes incorporating a lot of vegetables. Incorporating colorful vegetables into your diet has universally been accepted as being beneficial for your body. You can read about the advantages of adding more colorful vegetables to your diet here.
Colorful Foods are Healthy
It is very tempting to find a few vegetables that you find comfortable to cook with and which work well for you and your family. Does it sound familiar? Well, you are not alone, I am guilty of doing exactly this. That said, we should try to get outside this comfort zone. We should strive to include more variety in the produce that we use, such that it will benefit your body.
Each color in fruits and vegetables is caused by specific phytonutrients and each of this colors indicates an abundance of specific nutrients. For your body to thrive, you should eat a diverse range of colorful foods.
So, making a dish with a lot of color made me excited. When I recently came across purple potato noodles at a Korean store, I knew I had to make something simple, delicious and healthy out of this. A warm, nourishing, dish that has only vegetables, and a lot of healthy ones. I promise you that you will make this dish more often once you have tasted it.
Laksa – a taste of Malay Cuisine
I personally love the strong and aromatic flavor of the Malay cuisine, because of the combo of several strong flavors like lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and so on.
The addition of creamy coconut milk reminds me of many familiar South Indian dishes.
Keep in mind that most laksa paste contains shrimp paste. This means that the dish is not vegan or vegetarian. However there are many recipes you can find online that teache you how to make vegan laksa paste. You can this to substitute the store bought laksa paste. That said, I have noticed that the addition of shrimp paste is what gives laksa that authentic flavor.
Either way, you will end up with a delicious, creamy, slurpee dish perfect for cold nights or, I should rather say, anytime!
Purple potato laksa
This purple potato laksa is loaded with vegetables, nourishing, wholesome and rich in flavors, this dish will be a delight to your palette.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked purple sweet potato noodle
- 1 tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. laksa paste
- 7-8 baby carrots julienned
- 2-3 cauliflower florets cut lengthwise
- 1 bunch enoki mushroom ( you can substitute with your favorite mushroom )
- 1 cup thick coconut milk
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 2- 3 kale leaves
- To Garnish
- 1 tbsp. of chopped nuts (Cashews are perfect for that crunch element)
- 1 tsp. of chilly oil
- 3 sprigs of coriander cut into small bits
- 1/4 cup bean sprouts
Instructions
- Heat the saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp. of sesame oil.
- Once the oil is hot, add 2 full tbsp. of Laksa paste to the pan.
- Stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add in the coconut milk and vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
- Add all the vegetables (except bean sprouts and enoki mushrooms) and let the vegetables simmer in the pan in low medium heat for about 9-10 minutes.
- Add the enoki mushrooms at the end and let the mixture simmer for another 2 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package directions. It would require letting the noodles sit in boiling water for about 10 minutes.
- Drain and put the noodles in the serving bowl( a buddha bowl would have enough space for all the ingredients)
- Pour the broth over the noodles and sit the noodles sit in the broth for 5-10 minutes to soak up the flavors.
- Garnish with all the condiments and serve immediately.
Notes
You can substitute the purple potato noodles for rice noodles or sweet potato noodles. You can also add vegetables of your choice, I personally feel mushroom especially enoki or oyster are a great addition to this laksa.
I used purple sweet potato starch noodle here, that I found at a local Korean store.
If you try this recipe, leave a comment and let us know if you liked it.
If you like this recipe, you will definitely should try this healthy, herby, turkey meatball recipe.
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