Seafood Laksa Risotto

Seafood Laksa Risotto

Hub drove to Torino this morning and attended the first briefing for his new position. He came home really happy and motivated about his increased/new responsibilities and challenges - which makes me happy too since if your guy has to slog, you want him to do so with a happy face.

He's going to start on 1st January next year - and they were telling him that only then could they file his visa application. Big panic in our household when we heard that - since we're all set to move come January and without a visa we wouldn't be able to do so nor will the kids be able to attend school in the new country.

Hub's going to be in charge of his former company's Asian operations. It's going to be a big change for the rest of the family too - but I'm happy to be able to return to Asia for a few years, be closer to my roots etc.

And yes, some of you were right - we're moving to China. I'm going to speak Mandarin again and serves me right for not working hard enough at my Chinese when I was at school.

We can only bring 67 cubic metres over and much of it risks being taxed when it reaches Chinese customs. I'm therefore giving almost everything away. Whatever we would like to keep, we'll have to have it sent back to France.

I'm trying to empty my pantry by eating my way out of it. Found a packet of ready-made laksa paste. When I saw them selling a raw seafood platter (e.g. octopus, shrimp, squid, mussles, clams...) for risotto at the supermarket, it gave me the idea to try making a Seafood Laksa Risotto. That was lunch ready in about 15 minutes!

Seafood Laksa Risotto (serves 2) :

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small onion (chopped)

1 large garlic clove (minced)

50g ready-made laksa paste

300g fresh seafood (e.g. mussles, prawns, clams, squid, octopus)

1 cup arborio rice

1-2 cups hot chicken stock

200ml coconut milk

pepper to taste

dried chilli flakes

lemon or lime juice

fresh parsley or coriander for garnishing

Prepare the dish like you would a normal risotto. Meaning brown the onion in the oil followed by the garlic and when they fragrant, add the laksa paste.

Fry it till the oil starts to seep out and then add the fresh seafood followed by the rice. Coat the grains well with the spice paste.

Mix one cup of hot stock with half the coconut milk and pour into the pan. Mix well and let the grains cook in the liquid, stirring them from time to time. If necessary add in more hot stock plus coconut milk but only a little at a time.

The rice should be al dente and there should still be liquid in the pan. Add pepper to taste and garnish with chilli flakes, lemon juice and fresh coriander before serving.

Finally, they have sorted out the visa problem, so we should be able to move as planned in January.