Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Daring Cooks January 2010: Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce

Satay or sate is a popular street food dish consisting of sliced and marinated chicken/other meats/tofu, skewered on the midrib of a coconut leaf, and grilled or barbecued over a wood or charcoal fire. These tasty morsels are then served with a variety of spicy seasonings and dipping sauces.

It is unclear where exactly Satay originated but it is very popular in most SE Asian nations including Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. Did you know that Satay has multiple variations depending on the marinade uses, method of cooking and the dipping sauces provided!!!!
Ingredients:
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
11/2 tbsp ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed)
2 tbsp lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)
1 tbsp 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 packer extra-firm tofu (16 oz or 450g)
1 dragon chili

Method:
  1. Place all ingredients except the tofu for the marinade into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth.
  2. Cut the tofu into 1" squares with a thickness of at least 1/3".
  3. Rub the marinade into the tofu gently. Cover it completely and chill upto 4 hours.
  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 tofu squares strips onto skewers. Place the leftover marinade in a bowl - you can use this to brush the tofu while grilling.
  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.

Peanut Sauce
Peanut sauce is the best accompaniment you can have with Satay. I used organic peanut butter with no added ingredients. It gave a fabulous flavour to this 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)

Method:
  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.
The Verdict:
This is an excellent recipe for a quick and easy Tofu Satay and Peanut Sauce.

Post Script:
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.

All text and photographs in this blog, unless otherwise noted, are Copyright of © Annarasa 2007 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. Kindly do not reproduce without permission.

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