Laksa recipe: Chef Junda Khoo’s cooking advice and mistakes to avoid when making the iconic noodle dish

For Junda Khoo, a steaming bowl of laksa is more than a meal – it’s a portal to his childhood in Penang, Malaysia.

“I remember my mum picking us up from school and taking us to the golf club to meet my dad. While we were waiting, we’d have a bowl of laksa,” the Sydney chef and restaurateur tells nine.com.au.

“It’s such a simple memory, but it’s something that has stayed with me … even now, whenever I cook laksa, I’m always trying to recreate that feeling of growing up in Malaysia.”

Khoo has immortalised the dish’s presence in his life through his new children’s book. The Most Incredible Ingredient follows budding chef Umar as he gathers the items needed to make laksa, guided by the wise words of his Amah (grandmother).

It’s a story with echoes of Khoo’s own culinary journey. His love of food was sparked by his Amah, who “basically raised” him while his parents worked, and he grew up watching her cook.

“Every morning, we’d go to the wet market together to buy ingredients, and then she’d spend the day cooking for the family,” the founder of restaurant chain Ho Jiak recalls.

He’d wake up to the smell of food cooking, which was alluring enough to get him out of bed even on the mornings when he didn’t want to.

“I’d always hang around trying to help, although I think most of the time I was probably just getting in her way,” he says, adding that Amah “was always the boss in that kitchen”, even when he was older and had started cooking professionally.

“She eventually let me take over some of the cooking. But she was still supervising, telling me what I was doing wrong and what needed more seasoning.

“For me, cooking Malaysian food is a way of keeping those memories of her alive.”

Khoo’s book includes a chicken laksa recipe even the young chefs of the household can master with a little supervision.

He says the secret to a mouthwatering laksa is achieving a balance of the dish’s elements and flavour profiles.

“Laksa isn’t just about making something spicy. You need the richness from the coconut milk, the fragrance from the spices, the savouriness and just enough heat,” he says, advising you taste as you go and adjust to your liking.

As with so many recipes, there are mistakes that can derail the final product. Case in point: not cooking your laksa paste long enough.

“That’s where so much of the flavour comes from. You want to cook the paste properly and give the aromatics time to develop. If you rush it, you’re going to end up with a broth that tastes quite flat,” Khoo says.

“Another mistake is adding the coconut milk too early and boiling it too aggressively. You want it to come together nicely without separating too much.”

The noodles also require due diligence.

“You can spend hours making an amazing broth, but if your noodles are overcooked and soggy, it ruins the whole experience,” Khoo says.

That advice reflects a key lesson Khoo’s Amah imparted to him in her kitchen: even the simplest dishes can be amazing if done properly.

“You don’t need expensive ingredients or complicated techniques to make good food,” he says.

“What matters is using fresh ingredients, taking the time to prepare them properly and understanding how the flavours work together.

“I think that’s something I’ve carried with me throughout my career. At Ho Jiak, we might take traditional Malaysian dishes and do something a little different with them, but at the end of the day, the most important thing is still the taste.

“It doesn’t matter how beautiful or fancy a dish looks, if it doesn’t taste good, what’s the point?”

Junda’s Family-Friendly Chicken Laksa

Serves: 4

Cooking time: About 1.5 hours

Skill level: Easy

Ingredients

FOR THE LAKSA SOUP:

• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5 tablespoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chilli
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 cup fresh curry leaves
• 1 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 150 ml water
• 2 litres chicken stock
• 4 chicken leg quarters
• 1 ginger flower (optional)
• 1 bunch Vietnamese mint, washed
• 400ml coconut milk
• 200ml coconut cream
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon chicken stock powder
• 200g tofu puffs
• 300g snake beans, chopped into 3 cm pieces
• 300g bean sprouts
• 600g fresh hokkien noodles
• 200g dried rice vermicelli
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, halved lengthways
• Fresh mint leaves, fried shallots and
• chopped spring onions (for garnish)
• Lime wedges and sambal (for serving)

FOR THE LAKSA PASTE:

• 2 red onions, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped
• 10cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 2 teaspoons toasted belacan
• 3 candlenuts
• 2 tablespoons dried shrimp
• 25 whole dried chillies

Step 1: Make the Laksa Paste

• Put all the laksa paste ingredients into a food processor or blender.
• Blend until you get a smooth, thick paste.

Step 2: Cook the Paste

• Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over high heat.
• Add the laksa paste and stir for about 5 minutes until it smells amazing.
• Add the curry powder, turmeric, chilli, curry leaves, star anise, cinnamon stick, and water.
• Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring until everything thickens nicely.
• Turn off the heat and set it aside.

Step 3: Cook the Chicken

• Pour the chicken stock into a big pot and bring it to a gentle boil.
• Add the chicken legs and cook for 25 minutes until cooked through.
• Remove the chicken and cool it in ice water.
• Once cool, remove the bones and shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces.

Step 4: Make the Laksa Soup

1. Add the cooked laksa paste, ginger flower, and mint to the pot of chicken stock.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to medium and simmer for 1 hour.
3. Strain the soup through a fine sieve and return the liquid to the pot.
4. Stir in the coconut milk, coconut cream, sugar, salt, and chicken stock powder.
5. Add the tofu puffs and let the soup simmer gently on low heat.

Step 5: Prepare the Veggies & Noodles

1. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil.
2. Blanch the snake beans and bean sprouts briefly until still crisp.
3. Remove and set aside.
4. In the same water, cook the hokkien noodles and rice vermicelli until soft, then drain.
5. Tip: Soak the vermicelli in cold water for 20 minutes before cooking so it doesn’t stick together.

Time to Serve!

1. Divide the noodles and vermicelli between four bowls.
2. Add shredded chicken, snake beans, bean sprouts, and half an egg to each bowl.
3. Ladle the hot laksa soup over the top.
4. Add tofu puffs and sprinkle with mint leaves, fried shallots, and spring onions.
5. Serve with lime wedges and sambal.