January 2010 Daring Cooks Challenge--Satay

Happy New Year everyone! 2009 flew by so fast...I still remember ringing in the year of the ox and now it's the year of the tiger! It was an eventful year for me, there were a lot of challenges, disappointments and more importantly learnings for me. I could say 2009 was the most difficult year of my life...so far. And I can't wait to start this year, out with the old--in with the new!

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.

The requirements for this challenge was to marinate and then we had the freedom to make satay from pork, beef, chicken, tofu and seafood. I chose to make one of mine, fish. I had some left-over frozen cod fillets and I chose to make that for my first satay. I used the marinade (the long version) but the cod was getting cooked in the lemon juice so it was just marinated for less than 30 minutes and then I pan-fried the fish, and cooked it again in the marinade. It was very good...I brought it with me to work and everyone loved it. The cod soaked up the flavors of the marinade. I made a simple cucumber relish to tone down the heat of the satay.

Pan-fried Cod Satay with Cucumber and Carrot Relish

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce and Cucumber-Carrot Relish

And 2 days after, I grilled the pork satay that was marinating in the refrigerator, I was a bit worried it would be salty from all the fish sauce and soy sauce but surprisingly, it came out really good, very tasty!

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.

1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the pork and blend until smooth.

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

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.

I have tried many satay recipes and I can honestly say, I like this one a lot and will be using it again. Thank you Cuppy for this challenge!

I have scheduled this for automatic posting on the 14th of January because

..surprise ...surprise! i will be in Bangkok and will be gorging myself on authentic Thai food for the next 7 days!!!