Thursday, January 14, 2010

Daring Cooks: Satay!


The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

I recently joined The Daring Cooks challenge group. As a matter-of-fact, this is my first challenge and I'm so glad that it was not complicated and something that we've already had, albeit in a Thai restaurant. I think I've tried to make one Thai dish ever, even though we really like it. At some point, we will cast off our dock lines and go cruising. Dishes like this one, simple and delicious, will certainly make cooking at sea an easy and enjoyable thing to do. This was a wonderful first challenge. I followed the recipe, except I chose to use chicken in place of the pork (already had it). I ran short on time, so I only made the peanut sauce. In the future I will try the different sauces Cuppy included in the recipe.

Satay Marinade

1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed)
2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)
1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric (2-2.5 mls)
2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls)
1 pound of pork (loin or shoulder cuts) (16 oz or 450g) or any other meat or tofu

If you have a food processor or blender, blend everything together, EXCEPT the meat, of course, until smooth. I don't have a food processor or a blender, so I chopped everything very finely and mixed it all well in a bowl.

Cut the meat into 1 inch strips and place in a container (bowl, Ziploc baggie, etc.). Cover completely with the marinade. Seal tightly and chill.

Slide meat strips onto skewers. Don't forget to soak wood or bamboo skewers at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers.

Broil or grill at 290°C/550° F (or pan fry on medium-high) for 8-10 minutes or until the edges just start to char. Flip and cook another 8-10 minutes.

* If you’re grilling or broiling, you could definitely brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewers.

Peanut Sauce

3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.

Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and the dry ingredients mixture. Mix well, stir often.

All you’re doing is melting the peanut butter, so make your peanut sauce after you’ve made everything else in your meal, or make ahead of time and reheat.

Pepper Dip (Optional)
4 Tbsp soy sauce (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)
1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)
Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.
Tamarind Dip (Optional)

4 Tbsp tamarind paste (helpful link below) (2 oz or 60 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 finely chopped green onion (scallion)
1 tsp brown or white sugar, or to taste (about 5 mls)
Mix well. Serve chilled or room temperature.

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