LOW-FAT Singapore Laksa

I reached home at about 7pm last evening. No kid day! My girl was brought out by my mum tonight since it's school holiday. Nonetheless, I still have to cook my dinner for myself and hubby.

Haven't gotten any food ingredient prepared for my laksa dinner, I started to wash and peel the prawns, cut meat into thin slides and soak bean sprout (all ingredients bought from supermarker during lunch hour, after my lunch at a neighbourhood area). Set them aside, I boiled a pot of water for laksa soup. Since I did not have much time after work, I used readily packed laksa paste which commonly available in any supermarket (about $1.70 and $2.50 per packet). Curry paste is not difficult to make, but it requires spare time to do the blending and frying process. So, curry or chilli flavoured dish is the only dish which I usually use ready-made paste to cook as it is fast, less hassle, and convenient, especially for those working mothers or beginners in cooking. It does not really matter what brand used, they are pretty similar taste for most of the common brands. You may try this Hai's Instant Laksa Paste (which good for 3 -4 person). To me, it's the ratio of water, laksa paste and coconut milk that matters. So, I just have to boil the curry soup, prepare side dishes and blanch noodles, this great local delicacy took about 30 min to be served as our simply yummy dinner.

I was thinking to have a low-fat laksa tonight, and yet, I wanted to keep coconut milk, and not substituting it with some low-fat milk and soy milk, which many may normally think of as replacement. I used low-fat coconut milk (try this M&S brand in light blue & white colors box of 200g @ 80cents)! One more step I did to reduce fat is, scoped away the oil in the laksa paste before pouring into the boiled water.

Seriously, the taste of low-fat version was just as great as the normal one. The only minus point if you ask me, will be the soup was less fragrant. I used only a half packet of coconut milk, in fact (that's why the colour of my soup was not so milky and yellowish, but you can go ahead to use whole packet since it is low-fat). However, the calories intake was a great difference! Coconut milk considers as high cholesterol food, if we can reduce its fat to better food, why not??

Let's see... Normal Laksa - About 585 kcal. Calories from fat - About 340 kcal.
Low-Fat Laksa - About 415 kcal. Calories from fat - About 170 kcal.

I guess, it is still worth the effort, even if the taste goes a little more bland, right? Unlike my last laksa dinner, I mixed thick bee hoon with yellow noodles (instead of thick bee hoon alone) this time. I like to eat hard boiled egg in curry sauce, too. So, I took another 2 min extra to boil 3 eggs, awaiting enjoy it with the laksa gravy. By the way, I couldn't get cockles at noon. So, egg might be a bonus. (Chuckling)

Serves 3-4
Ingredients:
500g of thick rice noodles aka thick bee hoon (about 80 cents)
10 medium-sized prawn (amount of prawns depends on your liking)
1 cup of lean pork meat, thin sliced (your preference of meat part and amount) or chicken meat, shredded
2 fried fish cake, sliced
5 fried beancurd puff aka "Tao Pok"
Handful of bean sprout
1 packet of Low-fat coconut milk, 200g
1000ml of water (for soup)

Optional:
1 cup of fresh cockles aka "Hum" (soaked in water to easily remove the meat from shell).
Hard boiled eggs.

Garnish:
Coriander leaves (comes in small bottle. Masterfood brand from supermarket)

Methods:
1. Boil a pot of water (abt 1000ml) and cook sliced pork/ chicken meat (easier to shred the chicken meat only after cooked when turned cool). Remove meat. Then, cook prawns till they turn pink. Remove prawns and keep the stock, shell prawns when cool and reserve prawns.

2. Continue to boil the stock, add laksa paste into the boiling stock, followed by coconut milk. Stir well. Turn into small fire, and simmer it for 20 min.

3. Add fried bean curd into the soup.

4. Use another pot, hard boil eggs, peeled when turned cool. Set aside

5. Boil some water again (add pinch of salt after boiled), blanch the bean sprout and sliced fish cakes. Set aside. Then, boil noodles now.

6. Drain and divide noodles among bowls.

7.Top the prawns, meat, fishcakes, bean sprouts on the bowls of noodles

8.Pour over hot coconut laksa gravy. Garnish with corainder leaves and serve.

Actually, even if with my girl around, she'll enjoy the laksa though. The readily curry paste is not really spicy type... Guess you have to add your own sambal, if you prefer more spicy gravy.

So, how about having a home cooked dinner tonight, k?