Eggplant curry laksa with kelp noodles and asian greens

Tam West

This recipe uses 2 cups coconut milk. If you want to make your own see Megan May's easy homemade coconut milk recipe here.

For the curry base

2 cups	Coconut milk, see note above on making your own (Main)
½ cup	Water
1 stick	Lemongrass, white part only
2	Kaffir lime leaves
3 cm	Fresh ginger
3 cm	Turmeric
1	Garlic clove, peeled
1	Red chilli, Thai, deseed if you don't like it hot
1 tsp	Coconut sugar
2 tsp	Tamari
3 pinches	Salt, or more to taste

For the salad

1 packet	Kelp noodles, or use vermicelli or other rice noodles (Main)
¼ cup	Tamari
½ small	Savoy cabbages, finely shredded, or use white cabbage (Main)
1 cup	Bean sprouts (Main)
½ tsp	Toasted sesame oil

For the veges and garnish

2	Shallots
2 Tbsp	Coconut oil, 1 Tbsp for the veges and 1 Tbsp for frying the curry leaves for the garnish
4	Japanese eggplant, long, thin and light purple, available from most Asian stores (Main)
3 cm	Ginger, finely grated
2 tsp	Tamarind paste
12	Oyster mushrooms, use up to 16 (Main)
1 pinch	Sea salt
4	Curry branches
¼ cup	Coconut chips
¼ cup	Cashew nuts, lightly toasted
1	Red chilli, finely sliced
1	Lime, cut into wedges
2 handfuls	Fresh herbs, such as coriander, mint, basil

Directions

1. To make the curry base, blend all ingredients in a high speed blender for 1 minute until smooth. Use a fine mesh sieve to remove fibre from the spices. Set base aside. Can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for a few days.
2. For the salad, remove kelp noodles from the packet and rinse well. Place in a bowl with the tamari and allow to soften. Give them a little massage with your fingers, and leave for around 15-30 minutes. Once they have softened, pour off the tamari and rinse well. Place in a bowl with the other salad ingredients and toss together.
3. For the veges, slice the shallots into eighths and cook on medium heat for around 10 minutes with a little coconut oil until they begin to soften. Set aside. Cut the eggplants in half lengthways, and lightly score the flesh in a criss cross pattern with a knife. Heat a large frying pan to a medium heat and place the eggplants face down in the pan for 3-4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Turn them over and cook on the other side. The timing will depend on how thick your eggplants are. Make sure they are soft and cooked right through. Add a little coconut oil, the cooked shallots, grated ginger and tamarind, and cook for 30 seconds. Finally add in the curry base and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the coconut curry starts to thicken. In a separate pan, fry the oyster mushrooms on a medium to high heat with a little coconut oil and pinch of salt until golden. This should take 2-3 minutes.
4. For the garnish, bring 1 Tbsp coconut oil to a medium high heat and fry the curry leaves with a pinch of sea salt for 30 seconds, or until crisp and bright green. Add in the coconut chips and cook for a further 10 seconds. Both of these can burn quickly, so remove from the pan right away and place on a paper towel to absorb the oil.
5. Assemble by placing the kelp noodle salad in the centre of a large serving bowl and place eggplant, curry sauce and oyster mushrooms to one side. Top with curry leaf mix, cashews, lime, chilli and plenty of fresh herbs.

Nadia says

• You can substitute kelp noodles with vermicelli noodles or other rice noodles.
• Add more spring veges, like snow peas, chopped bok choy or finely shredded carrots, to the salad.
• If you can't get hold of the spices to make the curry base, you could also use a good quality curry paste.

More plant based recipes

• Spiced banana and date loaf
• Moroccan spiced eggplant with cauliflower falafels