Thai Satay

If you have travelled SE Asia you would have come across these as street food and they do vary from country to country but basically they are skewered meat with a peanut dipping sauce. Thai Satays are absolutely delish and of course in SE Asia are as cheap as chips. I found a vendor selling satay in Georgetown, Penang and spent my evening meal budget on them!

Anyway, as you know, in any Thai or Asian restaurant they cost about £20 for 2 or 3 small skewers with a thimble full of peanut sauce. But making your own you can eat as many as you like and make as much sauce as you like. Now I will never forget my step brother’s ex wife, who happened to be Thai, made these for a party and she made the peanut sauce (Nam Chim Satay) as every good Thai girl should, roasting peanuts and grinding them in a pestle and mortar with oil and spices and took her about 10 days. Seriously though, that is the best method but why not cheat and use good old fashioned peanut butter instead!

This recipe is tried and tested although I did screw up the peanut sauce once by adding too much coconut milk, but although the sauce was a wee bit runny we managed to drink it all!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

For the satay

  1kg pork tenderloin or chicken breast cut into 3cm strips or 4cm dice
  6 cloves of garlic, crushed
  1 tbsp ground coriander
  1 tbsp ground cumin
  1 tbsp ground tumuric
  1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
  1 tsp salt
  1 tsp white pepper
  125ml coconut milk
  Bamboo or wooden skewers ( The flat ones are best)

For the peanut sauce – Nam Chim Satay

  3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  2 tbsp vegetable oil
  250ml water
  2 hot chillies, finely chopped
  2 tbsp fresh lime juice
  2 tbsp palm or brown sugar
  1 tsp salt
  1/2 tsp shrimp paste (Kapi)
  250ml peanut butter (crunchy is better for texture)
  1 can coconut milk)

Preparation method:

For the satay

In a bowl mix the meat with all the ingredients, making sure the meat is all well coated and then let it marinade in the fridge for at least a couple of hours. Overnight is better. If you are using wooden skewers the flat ones are better as the meat doesn’t roll around on them, but I usually flatten the meat onto the skewer and it then sticks once I start grilling them. Put about 4 or 5 pieces of meat on each skewer and they can then be grilled over a BBQ or in a grill pan until cooked through. Probably 3-4 minutes on each side. Serve with the peanut sauce or cucumber sauce (Nam Chim Taeng Kwa)is also good…recipe to follow!

For the peanut sauce – Nam Chim Satay

In a small frying pan fry the garlic in the oil until soft then add the water, chillies, lime juice, salt, sugar, shrimp paste, peanut butter and coconut milk and stir until well blended, then simmer for about 10 minutes stirring frequently so that it doesn’t stick. Set aside in a nice serving bowl and maybe add a sprinkle of coriander leaves over the top.

Thoroughly enjoy!