Laksa is an Asian noodle dish with belly warming spicy flavour. Laksa is great meal to have using fresh fish when you get home from a winter’s evening fishing trip.

Using a prepared laksa paste and store-bought noodles also means that the following recipes are very quick and easy to prepare.

200g vermicelli noodles

1tbsp cooking oil

4tbsp laksa paste

2cups coconut cream

4cups vegetable or fish stock

500g fish fillets, de-boned and cut into 3-4cm pieces

2tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves

Handful of bean sprouts

4tbsp fried Asian shallots

1 lime, cut into wedges

Coriander leaves, for garnish

1-2 green shallots, finely sliced, for garnish

Noodles, laksa paste, coconut cream and fried Asian shallots are available in the Asian section of most supermarkets or your local Chinatown. If you want an extra creamy laksa, replace one cup of stock with an extra cup of coconut cream.

(1) Prepare the noodles according to the directions on the packet and then drain well.

(2) Heat the cooking oil in a large saucepan or wok on a medium heat. Add the prepared laksa paste to the pan and cook for about three minutes or until the laksa paste is fragrant. Stir in the coconut cream and stock, then bring to a gentle simmer.

(3) Add the fish pieces to the laksa mixture in the pot. Maintain a gentle simmer to avoid breaking up the pieces of fish, continue to cook for a further three minutes or so depending on their thickness. When cooked, the fish should just be able to be flaked with a fork. The fish will continue to cook in the heat from the laksa liquid after you have taken the saucepan off the stove.

(4) Add the two tablespoons of roughly chopped coriander leaves to the pot and combine gently.

(5) To serve, divide the cooked noodles between individual bowls and add fresh bean sprouts to each. Spoon the fish laksa over the top of the noodles and bean sprouts, then generously sprinkle with the fried Asian shallots.

(6) Add a wedge of lime to the side of the bowl, garnish with a couple of leaves of coriander, a sprinkling of green shallot and a spritz of lime juice (from the lime wedge) and you are ready to enjoy your fish laksa.

This version of a seafood laksa adds a little extra touch to a deliciously warming meal. You simply spear your pieces of fish and shelled green prawns onto fondue forks and then place them in the laksa sauce to cook through. It is a good idea to have two or three fondue forks for each person so that they can have multiple forkfuls of seafood on the go at the same time.

500g fish fillets, skinned and boned

500g green prawns, peeled and deveined

2tbsp cornflour

600ml coconut milk

3tbsp laksa paste

4tbsp chopped coriander leaves

3 green shallots, finely sliced

Elements of this recipe can be prepared ahead of time.

(1) Cut the fish fillets into cubes and then coat the cubes with cornflour. Allow the fish to stand for at least half an hour for a crust to form on the outside. This gives a delicious texture to the surface of the fish when it is cooked in the laksa sauce. Arrange the fish cubes on a large platter along with the peeled and deveined green prawns.

(2) For the laksa sauce, pour the coconut milk, laksa paste, 2tbsp of coriander leaves and sliced shallots into a heavy-based pot. Bring the pot to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Allow the pot to simmer for about five minutes before removing from the heat. Place the pot to one side to allow the contents to infuse their flavours for about 15 minutes.

(3) When you are ready to serve your laksa fondue, strain the coconut milk mixture through a sieve into your fondue pot (discard the used coriander leaves from the sieve). Pop the fondue pot on top of the heat source. Add the remaining two tablespoons of fresh coriander leaves to the laksa mixture in the pot.

(3) Spear the fish pieces onto fondue forks and cook in the laksa mixture for two to three minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. Do similar with the green prawns.

(4) Enjoy your Seafood Laksa Fondue.