December 20, 2021

Laksa Butter Seafood Foil Boil

Laksa is a rich and fragrant noodle soup from Malaysia that’s also common in other Southeast Asian countries like Singapore and Indonesia. Each laksa paste is made a little different but you’ll find a blend herbs and spices such as lemongrass, shallots, galangal, turmeric, and shrimp paste. I first got the idea of laksa butter from Dabao Singapore‘s, seafood tray that is served with laksa butter. If you’re in the bay area, definitely check them out!

As always, this is perfect for adapting based on personal preference! I’ve also made this using ~1/2 lb of cod cut into 4 pieces in place of the clams and it’s worked great with the same bake time. The Japanese sausages I use here are just slightly smoky and delicious! I had originally wanted to use lao or thai sausage but wasn’t able to find them, and it was a blessing in disguise. I’m thinking I want to try tom yum paste instead of laksa one of these days 🤔

To make 2 foils I used:

  • 2 small Japanese berkshire pork sausages, sliced
  • 1/2 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • 8 clams, prepped to get red of sand
  • 1 zucchini, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 baby yellow or red potatoes (or one of each), cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 ear of corn, cut into 4
  • 2 stalks of lemongrass, cut into ~2-inch pieces and smashed
  • 1/2 large shallot, minced
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 tbsp laksa paste
  • 1/2 tbsp sambal oelek
  • olive oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • cayenne
  • paprika
  • old bay seasoning
  • handful of cilantro
  • 1 lime
  • optional: baguette, rice

To make:

  • Pre-heat oven to 425F
  • Bring a small pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Add in the potatoes and corn and par-boil for 5 minutes
  • Mix-together the laksa butter by mashing together the butter, laksa paste, and sambal oelek. It won’t be perfectly consistent — totally ok in this case
  • Lay out two large pieces of foil and divide the seafood and vegetables between the two
  • Drizzle each with olive oil and spices (salt, pepper, cayenne, paprika, old bay), and toss to coat
  • Top each seafood pile with half the laksa butter
  • Fold over the foil to create a sealed bundle. Place on sheet pan and bake for 20 minutes at 425F
  • Remove and top with cilantro and lime juice
  • Optional, serve with toasted baguette or sticky rice