Daring Cooks' Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce

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.

Satay was always something that i wanted to make; the only problem was that I never found a recipe that compelled me enough to do so. But thanks to Cuppy, i can now cross out satay from my list of must-make dishes of 2010 :) We had the option to make satay using any type of meat or even with potatoes and tofu. I went ahead and made a pork satay since that's what Cuppy did and things just can't go wrong when you follow the pro ;) This was a very simple recipe and all i had to do was pulse the marinade in my food processor. I did, however, scare myself when my peanut sauce looked very runny while it was cooking. But no worries, the sauce thickened up by itself as it cooled down afterwards. Grilling was not an option with the blizzard outside so I placed them in the oven and they turned out yummy nonetheless. The pork was tender and bursting with flavors but i gotta say, the peanut sauce was even better! I can easily finish a cup of peanut sauce with a loaf of French bread if i wasn't so conscious of JLo's "that's-going-right-into-your-thighs" stare lurking around in the back of my mind. But whatevs, he's gotta deal with it sooner or later so... maybe half a loaf then? j/k.

Pork Satay

INGREDIENTS:

• 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.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the pork and blend until smooth [picture 1]. 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.
2. Cut pork into 1 inch strips.
3. Cover pork with marinade [picture 2]. 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. Then gently and slowly slide meat strips onto skewers.
5. 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 [picture 3].
6. If you’re grilling or broiling, you could definitely brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewers.

Peanut Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 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)

DIRECTIONS:

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 [picture 4]. 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.

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce