Monday, May 14, 2007

My Spicy Peanut Sauce

It's summertime, which means I'm cooking a lot satay for dinners and parties. It's one of those dishes that easy to make, great to take and always devoured.

First cut chicken or pork into small pieces: 1/4" by 3" is a good size to aim for. Marinate these pieces for 4-6 hours in:

1/4 C coconut milk
1/4 C vegetable oil
1 TBS. Thai Kitchen's red curry paste
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. lime juice
1 tsp. fish sauce

Now you can thread these chicken pieces onto skewers (soaked in water), but I find this awkward on my grill. So I just place them on the grill and cook them quickly. They are small and cook up quickly! About two minutes per side.

Now the best part: The Spicy Peanut Sauce you serve along with it.

Debra’s Thai Spicy Peanut Sauce.
This is adapted from Barbara Tropp's The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking.

I LOVE this stuff.. and use it like I used ketchup as a kid (on almost everything!!) It's fabulous on chicken and pork, but possibly at it's best on soba noodles or wholewheat pasta.

3-5 cloves ofgarlic (Tropp uses 10... but I found that then I couldn't taste anything except the garlic. Not the sauce I was going for...). I actually prefer to use roasted garlic, but that means planning ahead.

1/2C Soy
Sauce
1/2C all natural peanut butter (it has no transfats... so it's healthier).
5 TBS. Sugar
1-2 TBS Thai Kitchen Red chili sauce (depending on your tolerance for heat)
1 TBS. vegetable oil
1 TBS. lime juice

Mince the garlic in your food processor or blender. Add the rest of the ingredients, and puree for 1 minute (is you are using a blender, pulse the blend for about 10 second intervals).

Let the flavors blend for atleast 2 hours.

Will stay good in your fridge for 2 weeks. If it lasts that long, you mustn't really like it, so send it to me!!