January Daring Cooks' Challenge Satay

January Daring Cooks' Challenge 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.

Thank you cuppy for a marvellous challenge.

This month's challenge is all about marinating and making satay – we where allowed to use any meat or vegan option we wanted so I thought I would do three meats and tofu (I love tofu). The marinating recipe was a very good base (except for the use of cumin which I found very strange which I omitted) I added a lot of mint, chillies, coriander, kacup manis, tamarind and fish sauce to the marinade it was delightful. To the peanut sauce I again added mint, chillies, coriander, kacup manis, palm sugar and fish sauce just to give it some extra punch.

I think that the recipes given are more Thai-inspired than true Thai but they would be great for naïve tasters and would be a gentle introduction to this flavoursome cuisine.

First Batch Chicken Satay
What a fabulous and super-quick recipe I did chicken thighs satay 18 hour-marinade I did the marinade I couldn't bring myself to put in cumin so I replaced it with more ginger, lemongrass, chillies, katcup manis, fish sauce and palm sugar. It was fabulous.

Then I grilled (broiled) them in the oven-griller I found out my BBQ is broken!!! Then to the peanut satay I used the recipe but used a handful of chopped coriander and mint, 1 tbsp palm sugar and one red chilli again I couldn't bring myself to use cumin so I added some ginger, lemongrass, coriander, hot chillies, 1 tbsp lime juice and 3 Tbsp of sweet chilli sauce to the satay, it was so so delicious and exactly the way I like.

The 'BBQed' chicken skewers




The peanut satay sauce with plenty of coriander, mint, chillies, sweet chilli sauce


Second Batch of satay, tofu
The marinated tofu 2 hours


The 'BBQed' tofu it was delicious


Third Batch of satay kangaroo
Kangaroo is a very low-fat only needs a very short marinade time 30 mins


Kangaroo satay


Kangaroo BBQed tastes very much like a mouthwatering version of rare roast beef (most people cannot tell the difference) I make spaghetti bolognese and roo meatballs often and always get rave reviews about it, in my 'spag bol' I always add some grated roasted beetroot which really adds a depth of flavour and colour that is very appealing to the sauce. Kangaroo cooks in no time at all (great for BBQs) it is very low in fat and high in nutritents so is a 'healthy' meat and is much cheaper than beef.

The kangaroo was absolutely delicious I will be making this again and again.


Fourth batch veal 6 hours




Satay Recipe and notes
The key to a great marinade is to have an acid (lemon, lime, brine, soy, vinegar, etc) and an oil (peanut, vegetable, corn, olive, etc). If you’re already working with a soft meat (filet mignon) or vegetable (capsicum) or tofu, then you can skip the oil entirely. Potatoes and tofu still need to be marinated for flavour, otherwise you may as well dip French fries in catsup. If you're going to grill, I suggest you include the oil anyway.

Depending on the ingredients you select,
Time Table

	Prep	Marinate	Cook
Pork	30 min.	4 – 24 hrs	20 min.
Beef/Lamb	30 min.	6 – 24 hrs	20 min.
Chicken	30 min.	2 – 12 hrs	10 – 15 min.
Vegetables	5 - 10 min.	2 hrs	5 - 10 min.
Tofu	5 - 10 min.	2 hrs	5 - 10 min.

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)

Feeling the need to make it more Thai? Try adding a dragon chili, an extra tablespoon of ginger root, and 1 tablespoon (0.5 oz or 15 mls) of fish sauce. (I keep some premature (still green) dragon chili peppers in the freezer for just such an occasion.)

Directions:
1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the pork and blend until smooth. Lacking a food processor, I prefer to chop my onions, garlic and ginger really fine then mix it all together in a medium to large bowl.
2a. Cut pork into 1 inch strips.
3a. Cover pork with marinade. You can place the pork into a bowl, cover/seal and chill, or place the whole lot of it into a ziplock bag, seal and chill.

4. If using wooden or bamboo skewers, soak your skewers in warm water for at least 20 minutes before preparing skewers.
5. Gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers. Discard leftover marinade.*
6. 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)

1. Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.
2. Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Mix well, stir often.
3. 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 chillies, 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.