Recipes By Lara Lee
5 recipes found
Laksa
While chicken curry laksa is a popular restaurant dish across Southeast Asia, making it at home is entirely doable. It’s as simple as blending a spice paste, cooking it off and poaching some chicken thighs. It gets its complexity from rempah, a fragrant spice paste made with ingredients such as lemongrass and galangal (which can be swapped for ginger). This recipe calls for making your own rempah, but to save time, you can buy a good-quality paste and enhance it with fresh lemongrass, ginger and garlic (see Tip 2). The coconut milk-based broth is spicy, savory and rich, but not heavy, based on the curry laksa found at hawker centers in Malaysia and Singapore. The flavor improves over time, so it’s a dish worth making in advance.
Steak Marinade
Soy, coriander and cumin join ginger and garlic in this simple, umami-laden marinade. It’s a perfect match for any tender cut of beef, such as bavette, rib-eye or flank steak which have a loose, visible grain primed for soaking up marinades. This recipe imparts its flavor in as little as 30 minutes, though the meat benefits from any additional marinating time — and can sit for up to two days. The steak chars as it cooks, and the exterior caramelizes to create a crisp, powerfully savory crust.
Tofu-Vegetable Satay With Peanut Sauce
Caramelized pineapple, tofu and vegetables take center stage in these vegan satay, which are inspired by Indonesian charcoal-grilled skewers. Here, the smoky satay are glazed with sweet and sticky kecap manis, a fermented sweet soy sauce (see Tip), which also flavors the peanut sauce along with garlic, shallots and chile. The sauce is meant to be generously poured over the satay to serve, but any leftovers will last for one week in the refrigerator. The sauce thickens over time, so loosen it with extra water as needed. Serve the satay and peanut sauce with steamed rice or noodles, and a side of stir-fried greens or roast potatoes. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Tempe Penyet (Smashed Tempeh With Sambal)
Tempe penyet is a famous street food in Indonesia, especially common on the island of Java, where tempeh originated. “Penyet” means “to smash” or “to flatten” in Indonesian, and the technique ensures that every crack and crevice of this fried tempeh is penetrated by the sambal it is smashed upon. This version pan-fries the tempeh for ease, rather than deep-frying it, as is traditional. (If you prefer deep-frying, fry for 5 to 6 minutes in 350-degree oil until golden.) Caramelize the shallot, tomato and chile sambal until it browns and slightly chars, adding wonderful flavor and chewy-crispy bits. A drizzle of kecap manis, an Indonesian sweet soy sauce infused with spices, balances the dish with a savory-sweetness. To get vegetarian recipes like this one delivered to your inbox, sign up for The Veggie newsletter.
Cheesy Kimchi Noodles
Instant ramen ranks highly among comfort foods because it can be quickly prepared and those little seasoning packets provide lots of flavor with minimal effort. No packets are used in this recipe, but the addition of gooey, melted Cheddar and funky fermented kimchi makes the dish even more satisfying. Sautéed scallions and garlic balance out the spicy Sriracha, soy and sesame sauce, while the runny yolk from a crispy fried egg adds richness and mellows the spice. The cheese becomes sticky as it cools, so these noodles are best served immediately while still warm and glossy.