Butternut Squash and Scallop Laksa

Today people, I have applied myself to college work.

Yes, I know it is a MAJOR breakthrough. I swear it is the first time I have done anything constructive since Christmas.

😀

So, laksa! It is beautiful and reminds me very much of one of my all-time favourite BBC Good Food recipes: Thai Salmon Soup

Except that this is MY recipe and that makes me extra extra eager to share it with you 🙂 it is also a milder version for anyone who loves a punch of flavour without their nose running and eyes watering into their food…

It just summarises everything I love at the moment: Thai food (well actually it’s Malaysian but that sort of flavouring); LIME; coconut, noodles, squash, stir-fry vegetables… and surprisingly, scallops! See I have a bit of a seafood phobia due to various bad experiences, but I actually love these little things. They make me happy because now I use them interchangeably with prawns (which are the arch enemies of my taste buds) and so I feel I can tackle an even wider range of recipes 🙂

Serves 4

• approx 140g laksa paste (I found a 180g jar at my local supermarket – think of the cool things you could do for 1 with the leftovers!)
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 x 400g tin coconut milk
• 400ml chicken stock
• 200g scallops (I used frozen)
• 300g straight to wok rice noodles (though I would probably use more… I didn’t think 600g looked moderate enough :P)
  
• a good handful of beansprouts, baby sweetcorn, mange tout or other stir-fry type vegetables. Bamboo shoots would be great.
• 4 spring onions, chopped
• lime wedges, to serve

1. Toss the prepared squash with the laksa paste in a large saucepan for a few minutes, until it is fragrant and the squash is coated nicely with the paste. Add the coconut milk and stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes depending on how big your cubes of squash are – they should be verging on tender, but nowhere near soft!!! 
2. Add the noodles, vegetables (not the spring onions) and scallops (straight from frozen if that’s what you’re working with), and simmer for 4-5 minutes, until the noodles are tender, the scallops are cooked through but not rubbery aaaand the vegetables are hot but still crunchy.
3. Serve into adequately sized (large) bowls and top with the spring onions. Serve with lime wedges – by which I mean squeeze half a lime into your bowl and swirl it all around. I don’t think it is negotiable actually.

P.S: This is the sort of meal that will dribble down your chin multiple times leaving you feel rather clumsy/messy but very warm and satisfied 🙂

P.P.S: I’d say a sticky chin/splattered clothes is a worthy sacrifice.

P.P.P.S: Forgive the extreme usage of brackets, forward slashes and p.s’s.