Laksa Lemak

Okay. This is a soup recipe from Malaysia and it's divine. It's spicy, so watch yourself Maureen!

To make...

You'll need...

675g of small clams
800ml of coconut milk
50g of ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
900ml of water
115g of finely chopped shallots
4 garlic cloves, chopped
6 macadamia nuts or blanched almonds, chopped - go for the almonds if you're concerned about the fat content of the macadamias...
3 lemongrass stalks, roots trimmed
90ml of sunflower oil
1cm cube of shrimp paste
25g of mild curry powder
Couple of curry leaves
2-3 aubergines, trimmed. If you want an exact measurement, the recipe calls for 675g.
675g of peeled prawns
10ml of sugar
1 head of Chinese leaves, thinly sliced
115g of beansprouts, washed
2 spring onions, chopped
50g of crispy fried onions
115g of firm tofu
675g of mixed noodles, failing that, udon.
Prawn crackers to serve!

To make it, you need to...

1. Scrub your clams (ooh err!) and then put into a large pan with at least a centimetre of water. Bring to the boil, cover and then steam your clams for three to four minutes until the clams have opened. Drain and discard unopened clams. Make the coconut milk up to 1.2 litres with water. Put the anchovies in a pan and add the measured amount of water. Bring to the boil and simmer for twenty minutes.

2. Meanwhile, put the shallots, garlic and nuts into a mortar (or a grinder/food processor), cut off the lower five centimetres of the lemongrass, chop finely and add to the mortar (or grinder/processor). Pound it, baby, to paste.

3. Heat the oil in a large heavy pan, add the shallot paste and fry until the mixture is aromatic. Bruise the remaining lemongrass and add to the pan. Toss over the heat to release the flavour from the lemongrass. Mix the shrimp paste with the curry powder to a paste with some of the coconut milk, add to the pan and toss the mixture over heat for a minute, stiring constantly and keeping the heat low. Add the curry leaves and the remaining coconut milk.

4. Strain the stock into a pan and discard the anchovies. Bring to the boil and add your aubergines. Cook for ten minutes or until tender and the skins come off easily. Lift out of the stock, peel and cut into thick strips.

5. Arrange the aubergines on a serving platter. Sprinkle the prawns with sugar, add to the stock and cook for 2-4 minutes until they turn pink. Remove and arrange next to your aubergines. Add the Chinese leaves, the beansprouts, spring onions and crispy onions to the platter along with the clams.

6. Gradually stir the remaining anchovy stock into the pan of soup and bring to the boil. Rinse the tofu in boiling water, cool slightly and squeeze to remove excess oil. Cut each piece in half and add to the soup. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer.

7. Cook your noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and pile into a dish. Remove the curry leaves and lemongrass from the soup. Place the noodles, soup and platter of seafood and vegetables on the table with the prawn crackers and allow your guests to help themselves!

The recipe does state you can substitute the clams for mussels if you can't get your paws on clams. And remember - discard ALL clams/mussels that do not open in the cooking process!