Katong laksa

Name: Katong laksa
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 4 bowls
Cuisine: Singaporean
Ingredients: 500 g Prawn, shell-on; shells and heads for the stock; 1.5 l Water; 10 piece Fresh chilli, 6 dried, soaked in hot water; 4 fresh red; 6 piece Shallot; 4 clove Garlic; 25 g Galangal, sliced; 2 stalk Lemongrass, tender inner part, sliced; 15 g Turmeric, fresh, or 1 tsp ground; 1 tbsp Shrimp paste, toasted; 6 piece Cashews, standing in for candlenuts; 5 tbsp Neutral oil; 500 ml Coconut milk, full fat; 1 tbsp Palm sugar; 1 tbsp Fish sauce; 1 tsp Salt; 400 g Rice noodles, thick round laksa noodles, fresh or soaked dried, snipped into 5 cm lengths; 200 g Firm white fish, poached in the stock and sliced; or bought fish cake; 8 piece Tofu, fried tofu puffs, halved; 150 g Bean sprouts, blanched 20 seconds; 2 piece Egg, boiled 8 minutes, halved; 1 handful Coriander, finely chopped; laksa leaf (Vietnamese coriander) if your grocer has it

Laksa Katong

Singapore's coconut laksa from the Katong district: thick rice noodles cut short in a rich prawn and coconut gravy, eaten with a spoon.

Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: Laksa Katong.

Start cooking

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 45 min
Rest: None
Total: 1 hr 15 min
Difficulty: Medium
Spice: Medium heat
Cost: A bit special$16–28 USD · indicative, not a store price

Know it before you cook it

About

Katong laksa is Singapore's coconut laksa, and its signature is practical: the thick rice noodles are snipped short so the whole bowl can be eaten with a spoon. The gravy is a spice paste of dried and fresh chilli, shallot, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, turmeric and shrimp paste, fried in oil, then simmered with a stock made from prawn shells and finished with coconut milk. It should be orange, glossy and rich but not heavy. Each bowl gets noodles, prawns, slices of fish cake or poached white fish, tofu puffs, bean sprouts, half an egg, a spoon of sambal and a shower of chopped laksa leaf. There is no tamarind here; that is Penang's sour asam laksa, a different dish.

What you'll need

21 ingredients. Tap each one once it's out on the bench.

0 of 21 ready

4 servings

Stock
Spice paste
Gravy
Bowl

Ingredients

Servings

Stock

Prawn, shell-on; shells and heads for the stock500 g
Water1½ l

Spice paste

Fresh chilli, 6 dried, soaked in hot water; 4 fresh red10
Shallot6
Garlic4 clove
Galangal, sliced25 g
Lemongrass, tender inner part, sliced2 stalk
Turmeric, fresh, or 1 tsp ground15 g
Shrimp paste, toasted15 ml
Cashews, standing in for candlenuts6
Neutral oil74 ml

Gravy

Coconut milk, full fat500 ml
Palm sugar15 ml
Fish sauce15 ml
Salt4.9 ml

Bowl

Rice noodles, thick round laksa noodles, fresh or soaked dried, snipped into 5 cm lengths400 g
Firm white fish, poached in the stock and sliced; or bought fish cake200 g
Tofu, fried tofu puffs, halved8
Bean sprouts, blanched 20 seconds150 g
Egg, boiled 8 minutes, halved2
Coriander, finely chopped; laksa leaf (Vietnamese coriander) if your grocer has it1 handful

Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.

Steps

Step 1
Peel the prawns and keep the shells and heads. Fry the shells in a tablespoon of oil in a stockpot until pink and fragrant, add the water and simmer 20 minutes. Strain and keep hot.
25 min
Tip: Press the heads with a spoon before straining. That is where the flavour is.
Step 2
Blend both chillies, shallot, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, turmeric, shrimp paste and cashews to a fine paste, adding a little oil to help.
8 min
Step 3
Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan over medium heat and fry the paste, stirring often, until it darkens, smells sweet rather than raw, and the oil separates and turns red, 10 to 12 minutes.
12 min
Watch: This step is the whole dish. Underfried paste tastes of raw shallot.
Step 4
Pour in the prawn stock and simmer 10 minutes. Add coconut milk, palm sugar, fish sauce and salt and return to a gentle simmer. Poach the white fish in the gravy 4 minutes, lift out and slice. Add the prawns for the last 2 minutes.
18 min
Step 5
Warm the cut noodles in boiling water for 30 seconds and drain. Divide between bowls with tofu puffs, bean sprouts, fish and prawns. Ladle over the gravy, add half an egg, a spoon of sambal and chopped herb. Eat with a spoon.
5 min

Nutrition

Per serving · estimate

Calories: 859 kcal
Protein: 56.1 g
Carbs: 52 g
Fat: 49.8 g
Saturated fat: 26.8 g
Fibre: 6.8 g
Sugar: 14.4 g
Sodium: 2066 mg

Calculated from canonical ingredient data (USDA FoodData Central averages and equivalent published tables). Estimates only.

Allergens

Informational only. Not a medical guarantee. Cross-contamination happens in real kitchens.

Shellfish
Fish
Tree nuts
Eggs
Soy

Dairy-free
Gluten-free

Adapt this recipe

The original recipe stays as it is. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are simple maths.

Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 13 November.

Substitutions

Shrimp paste → 2 tbsp fish sauce
Thinner, less funk, but the gravy still works.
Fresh coconut milk → Tinned coconut milk
Standard at home. Do not boil it hard or it splits.

Tips

Chinese grocers sell thick fresh laksa noodles in the chiller; failing that, use the thickest dried rice noodles you can find.
A spoon of dried shrimp soaked and blended into the paste adds the stall depth.
The gravy improves overnight. Reheat gently and add the seafood fresh.

History & culture

A Katong breakfast or lunch, eaten at plastic tables at stalls along East Coast Road that have fought for decades over who was first. It is Peranakan food, from the Straits-born Chinese community whose cooking marries Chinese technique and Malay spice. People drive across the island for a particular stall's bowl and know its sambal by sight.

Laksa in its coconut form comes from the Peranakan kitchens of Malacca, Penang and Singapore, with Malay spice pastes and Chinese noodles meeting in the nineteenth century. The Katong version with cut noodles was popularised by Janggut, a hawker who worked the area from the 1950s. Several families now claim the original.

Regional variation — The Singapore Katong style: coconut gravy, no tamarind, noodles cut short. Stalls use dried shrimp in the paste and bought fish cake; poached white fish is the home stand-in. Candlenuts are replaced by cashews.

Provenance: Editorial adaptation.

Questions about this recipe

Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips.

How long does Katong laksa take?

1 hr 15 min all in — 30 min prep, 45 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.

How many does it serve?

The recipe is written for 4 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.

How hard is it?

Medium.

How spicy is it?

Medium heat.

What allergens should I watch?

This recipe is labelled for Shellfish, Fish, Tree nuts, Eggs, Soy. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.

Does it fit a diet?

The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Gluten-free.

9 more questions

What does it cost to cook?

A bit special — about $16–28 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.

What equipment do I need?

Stockpot, Blender, Saucepan.

How much salt do I put in?

The recipe lists Salt at 1 tsp.

How much fish sauce?

1 tbsp of Fish sauce.

What can I use instead?

Shrimp paste → 2 tbsp fish sauce. Thinner, less funk, but the gravy still works. Fresh coconut milk → Tinned coconut milk. Standard at home. Do not boil it hard or it splits.

What should I watch for?

This step is the whole dish. Underfried paste tastes of raw shallot.

Any tips from this recipe?

Chinese grocers sell thick fresh laksa noodles in the chiller; failing that, use the thickest dried rice noodles you can find. A spoon of dried shrimp soaked and blended into the paste adds the stall depth. The gravy improves overnight. Reheat gently and add the seafood fresh.

Can I prepare this ahead?

The gravy improves overnight. Reheat gently and add the seafood fresh.

Can I use an air fryer?

This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.