Laksa with Cauliflower

Ingredients

For the crispy tofu

• 200 g/7 oz firm tofu, drained
• 1 tablespoon cornflour/cornstarch salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, for frying

For the laksa

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons vegan laksa paste
• 1 litre/quart vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar/jaggery
• 400-ml/14-fl oz can coconut milk
• 200 g/7 oz cauliflower, cut into florets or mini cauliflowers
• 80 g/3 oz mini courgettes/zucchini
• 100 g/3½ oz asparagus tips
• freshly squeezed juice of 1-2 limes
• 200 g/7 oz rice/soba noodles

To finish

• 50 g/scant 1 cup beansprouts
• 3 spring onions/scallions, sliced diagonally
• 10 g/½ cup coriander/cilantro, leaves picked
• 1 red chilli, sliced diagonally lime wedges
• chilli sauce

Method

For the crispy tofu, line a plate with a folded paper towel and set the tofu on top. Set a small plate on top of the tofu and weigh it down with something heavy. Pat the tofu dry with more towels. Cut into cubes, season with salt and evenly coat with the cornflour/cornstarch. Heat the oil in a frying pan/skillet and add all of the tofu in a single layer. The tofu should sizzle upon contact – if not, wait a few minutes to let the pan heat up more. At first, the tofu will stick to the pan, so wait until the tofu releases from the pan before browning the next side. Fry until all sides are brown and crispy. Transfer to a cooling rack. It will remain crisp only for a few hours.

For the laksa, heat a wok over a high heat and add the oil. Swirl to coat. Add the laksa paste and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add the stock, soy sauce and palm sugar/jaggery, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, mini courgettes/zucchini and asparagus tips, and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice to taste. Stir to combine.

Meanwhile, place the noodles in a heatproof bowl. Cover with boiling water and leave to stand for 5 minutes or until tender. Drain and divide the noodles between four bowls. Ladle the coconut mixture over the noodles. Serve with the crispy tofu, beansprouts, spring onions/scallions, coriander/cilantro, chilli and lime wedges, and an extra drizzle of chilli sauce.