By Wai Lin Coultas

AS TASTY as an Indian curry, Indonesia’s lontong sayur is a sambal-spiced coconut soup rich with rice cakes, tofu and hard-boiled eggs. Malaysia’s lodeh variation is loaded with carrots, cabbage and French beans.

Australian spring produce and a slurpylicious take on dry curried Singapore noodles gives a curry that vegetarians can happily construct by pouring gravy into vegetable-filled noodle bowls – perfect for dinner guests who love food play!

Ingredients

1 x 220g bag Kan Tong thin rice or laksa noodles, soaked 10 minutes in boiling water, drained and tossed in canola oil

2 lettuce leaves, thinly sliced

2 sprigs fresh basil, thinly sliced

4 spears asparagus, blanched

4 sprigs broccolini, blanched

2 florets cauliflower, cooked & quartered

1 ½ small carrots, cooked & thickly julienned

6 truss tomatoes, skinned

4g bean curd sheets, sectioned, shallow-fried in canola oil & drained

2 eggs, hard boiled, peeled & halved

6 fresh curry leaves, another

8 shallowed fried in canola oil & drained

2 onions, peeled & finely diced

8 cloves garlic, peeled & minced

1 lemon, juiced

30g pickled sushi ginger, drained & finely diced

2 tbsp ginger paste

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp chilli powder

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp ground fenugreek

2 tbsp Hill Farm’s ploughman’s mustard

3 tbsp tomato paste

4 vegetable stock cubes

400 ml water

2 x 400 ml cans coconut milk

50g shredded desiccated coconut salt canola oil

Note that laksa noodles and sushi ginger are available at most large supermarkets. Bean curd sheets are available at most Asian grocers.

Instructions

1 Over high heat, sauté onions till softened,

2 Add garlic, sushi ginger and ginger paste and sauté till fragrant.

3 Add dry spices and the 6 unfried curry leaves, sauté till fragrant

4 Stir in water, mustard, tomato paste and stock cubes, dissolve then bring to boil.

5 Stir in coconut milk, bringing to boil

6 Add lemon juice and shredded coconut, bring to boil again then season with salt.

7 Mix oiled noodles with lettuce and basil and divide mixture into 2 bowls

8 add half the vegetables, half the fried bean curd and 1 boiled egg into each bowl’

9 divide the hot curry gravy over the 2 bowls and garnish with half the fried curry leaves on the side.

Serves 2