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Coconut laksa with scallops and green tea noodles

Peter Gordon from Market Kitchen
A fragrant fish broth packed with sweet and sour Malaysian flavours from Peter Gordon

Coconut laksa with scallops and green tea noodles

Method

1. Heat a large pan and lightly caramelise the onion, garlic, galangal and ginger in 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add 2/3 of the chilli, the kaffir lime leaves and the roots and stems of the coriander (pound them first to release the flavours). Stir in the spices and fish bones and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.

2. Add the palm sugar, nam pla, coconut milk, tamarind and 600ml hot water and bring to the boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Pass through a fine sieve into a clean pot and taste for seasoning - adding salt, nam pla, lime juice and the squeezed lime halves. Leave to simmer while you assemble the rest of the dish.

4. Toss the scallops in a little sesame oil then sear in a really hot pan to colour the outsides, but do not cook beyond rare. Rest for a minute then slice in half horizontally.

5. Pound the scallop corals to a paste with a little salt.

6. Warm 8 deepish bowls and heat up the noodles in hot water. To serve, drain the noodles and place in the bowls. Ladle over the laksa broth and sit the seared scallops on top. Dollop on the coral purée, then scatter with the reserved chilli slices, spring onions, crispy shallots and the coriander leaves.

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Serves: 8

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 1 hr

Ingredients
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
100g galangal, unpeeled, sliced
50g ginger root, unpeeled, sliced
Sesame oil, for frying
1 red chilli, finely sliced (use more or less to taste)
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 small bunch Coriander, with roots
2 Black cardamom pods, roughly chopped
4 allspice berries, crushed
2 Star anise, broken up
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
200g Fish bones
1 lump pale Palm sugar, chopped
4 tbsp nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1.2 litres coconut milk
25g tamarind paste, from a block
50-100ml lime juice
16 Scallops, coral reserved
100g green tea noodles, cooked and drained
2 Spring onions, finely sliced
4 tbsp Thai crispy Shallots