Laksa Soup

On Thursday night's the mall in my hometown would stay open later than its usual hours. My mum would pack us up into the car and drive over. And before doing our shopping that evening we would head up to the food court and get dinner. 
"A food court dinner?" you ask, "what's so great about that?"
Every now and then a Gem of a restaurant will pop up into these mall food courts and in my time of life, this has happened to me less than a handful of times. When it happens, it is worth paying tribute to. 
And even though it isn't there anymore, 'Happy Chef' was hands down my favorite place to eat on the planet. They had the BEST seafood laksa, delectable char kway teow and a beef in black bean sauce dish like none other I've had since.
Laksa in particular was one of my favorites, especially on colder evenings. This delicious spicy coconut broth warmed you right from your tongue to your toes. I've tried this dish at other places and nothing compares to the version and "Happy Chef".
 
Since I can't get it anymore, I eventually decided to try making my own. I'm not gonna lie, I think I came pretty darn close with this recipe!
The key for me was getting this brand of curry paste: Tean's 
And adding a few extra ingredients to give it the full richness of the complex flavors Laksa so unique.
(This dish is usually eaten as a noodle soup, but I left it out since I enjoy just the soup. 
If you choose to add noodles to yours, just follow the cooking instructions of these laksa noodles and add it to your dish.)

Ingredients-

Paste:
Some dried shrimp
Garlic cloves
1/2 a shallot
Small piece of ginger
Red chillies(to your taste)

Water (about a 1/4 cup)

Soup:
Laksa paste (amazon link above)
Vegetable oil

Chicken stock or water for broth
Canned Coconut milk (I used the 'Geisha' brand)
Fish sauce, to taste
Fish balls (4-5 per person)
Small fried tofu puffs, cut in halves
3-4 shrimp (per person), shells removed, but saved this for flavoring oil
Sugar, to taste
Sweet asian fish cake (thinly sliced and sauté)

Garnishes: 
Bean sprouts
Red chili- thinly sliced

Spring onion-chopped
Cilantro-chopped
Lime wedges

Directions-

Finely chop (or blend in food processor) ingredients for ‘paste’ and set aside.

Heat oil in pan and sauté washed shrimp shells.
When shells turn pink, remove from pan, leaving flavored oil.
Add blended 'paste' ingredients as well as packet laksa paste.
Stir until well blended and heated through.
Add some sugar and taste to ensure balance in flavors.
Add broth (or water) and bring to boil.
When boiling add tofu and fish balls and turn heat down to a simmer.
Simmer for several minutes, and add fish sauce and shrimp.
When shrimp is cooked (should only be a few minutes) add coconut milk.
Stir well. 
(You can adjust taste with sugar or salt depending on your preference)
Serve in large bowl adding fish cake on top as well as your choice of garnishes.
Dig in!