Satay Peanut Sauce Recipe

Peanut sauce (satay sauce or kacang sambal in the Malay language) is a sauce that is mostly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, primarily as a sauce for grilled satay. There are several different recipes for making peanut sauces, and this means that peanut sauces will taste differently depending on the recipe's country of origin. Typically, a home-made recipe will contain peanuts, coconut milk, soy sauce, and spices such as ginger. Some peanut sauces also contain fried onions, sesame seed, olive oil or peanut.

This peanut sauce recipe for grilled satay contained below is used in Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine.

Ingredients

8 dried chillies (soaked until soft). Remove seeds if you do not like it too hot.
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup shallots
4 candle-nuts or macadamia nuts.
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 cup peanuts (finely ground)
1/4 cup thin tamarind juice (get the tamarind paste, add a little warm water and squeeze the juice, strain)
1/4 cup evaporated milk diluted with 1 cup water (or light coconut milk).
1 tablespoon sugar
salt to taste

Procedure

Grind the chillies, garlic, shallots & candle-nuts together until very fine.

In a stir-fry wok, fry the ground ingredients in hot oil for 5 minutes.

Stir in ground peanuts and tamarind juice.

Bring to the boil.

Add milk and salt to taste and bring to the boil again.

Serve with grilled satay.

Satay Marinade Recipe

It's grilling season! This grilled satay recipe is a perfect one to try.

Satay (barbequed meat on skewers) is a popular dish in Southeast Asian countries like Malaysia and Singapore. The secret of a delicious satay is in the marinade. The recipe below is an authentic satay marinade used in Southeast Asia - the spices in the recipe are guaranteed to tenderize the meat and imbue it with fragrant flavors.

Ingredients

12 shallots
6 cloves garlic
2 inch fresh ginger
1 tsp peppercorn
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp belacan (shrimp and chilli paste)
4 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp tumeric powder

Procedure

1. Grind up the shallots, garlic, ginger, white peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and belacan(shrimp and chilli paste) to make a paste.
2. Add water to the paste. Add the sugar and tumeric powder.
3. This is the satay marinade. Cover the meat with this marinade and leave till overnight in the refrigerator.
4. Skewer the marinated meat with bamboo sticks. Be sure to soak the bamboo sticks beforehand, so they do not burn when you begin to grill the meat. When grilling, turn the skewered meat over now and then. Each time you turn the skewered meat, baste them with the marinade.

Important Notes

The key of the marinating process is to marinate the meat for a long time, at least overnight and some people even marinate the meat in the refrigerator for up to three days. Also remember to slice the meat thinly so as to cook evenly, preventing overcooking on the grill.

In Southeast Asia, grilled satay is always accompanied with a peanut sauce dip, and fresh cut cucumbers. Click here for the peanut sauce recipe.

Black Pepper Sauce

Chop garlic, onions and mushrooms into fine pieces.

Fry the garlic, onions and mushrooms in olive oil.

Then add the grinded black peppers.

Pour some water to make a paste.

Add some oyster sauce. Stir till you obtain a good mixture. The add more water until is becomes slightly watery. Now add some sugar so that not the sauce is not too saltish due to the oyster sauce that was added earlier.