Even though every day we could easily eat warmed up turkey and stuffing smothered in gravy with a big dollop of our cranberry sauce, Chef Dino surprised us this past Thanksgiving with a new turkey recipe and it’s become an instant favourite in our house: Turkey Laksa

Laksa is a spicy, fragrant noodle soup found across Southeast Asia, particularly Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia. It consists of noodles in a thick broth made with spices, fresh aromatics, shrimp or fish paste, and coconut milk. Dino’s version is lighter, silky, and not too spicy. It’s perfect for cold, drizzly winter days. This recipe yields 4 servings.

Turkey Laksa

Soup Base:
1 tbsp.                  Canola oil
1 whole                Yellow onion, diced
2 cloves               Garlic, finely diced
1 tsp.                     Fresh ginger, slivered
1 stalk                   Lemongrass
2-3                        Thai lime leaves (also known as kaffir)
2 tbsp.                  Yellow Thai curry paste
1 tbsp.                  Red Thai curry paste
1 tbsp.                  Fish sauce
1 L                          Turkey stock (substitute with chicken if need be)
1 can                      Coconut milk (400mL)
1 cup                     Whipping cream

Garnish:
1 pkg                     Rice vermicelli noodles (250 g)
2 cups                   Turkey meat, finely sliced
2 cups                   Bean sprouts
1 oz.                       Thai basil
1                              Serrano or Birdseye chile, sliced (optional)
1                              Lime – cut into wedges

Directions:

• Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves over medium heat in canola oil until onion is translucent.

• Add curry pastes and stir to incorporate.

• Add the fish sauce, stock, coconut milk and whipping cream. Allow to simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.

• Cook the vermicelli noodles as per package directions. Drain and divide into equal amount in bowls. Add thinly sliced turkey.

• Remove lime leaves and lemongrass from broth and pour hot mixture over noodles in each bowl

• Garnish with bean sprouts, basil, lime wedge, & optional chiles