Thai satays can be found all over the streets of Thailand, and they're almost always made from pork, but you can also use chicken or beef. The peanut sauce in this recipe is so good you can put it on anything you like, however, few people know that in Thailand, peanut sauce is only used on satays and a handful of other dishes like this salad. (No, Thai people do not put peanut sauce on everything despite what you might have been led to believe!)
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Satay & Peanut Sauce หมูสเต๊ะ
- Yield: 4-6 Servings
Ingredients
- 1 lb pork loin, cut into 2-cm thick chops, chicken, or beef (see note)
- ¼ cup coconut milk for basting
- Small 6-inch bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 2-3 hours
- 4 slices white bread
Marinade
- 1 ½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted
- ½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted
- ¼ tsp white peppercorns
- 1 Tbsp lemongrass, chopped
- 1 tsp galangal, minced
- 1 tsp chopped fresh turmeric or ½ tsp turmeric powder
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground clove
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ Tbsp white vinegar or rice wine vinegar
- ⅓ cup coconut milk
- ¼ cup water
Peanut Sauce
- 2 Tbsp red curry paste, panang curry paste, or massaman curry paste (each one will give a slightly different flavour)
- 1¼ cup coconut milk
- ½ cup roasted peanuts
- 2 Tbsp toasted white sesame seeds (or substitute 2 tablespoon more peanuts)
- 1-2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped palm sugar
- 2-3 tablespoon tamarind juice
Quick Cucumber Pickle (Ajaad)
- ½ cup quartered and sliced cucumber
- 1 Tbsp thinly sliced shallots
- 8-10 slices of spur chilies, jalapenos, serranos, or fresno chilies,
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
Cut the pork chops in half along the length of the fatty rind. Then slice each piece, along the short side, into ¼-inch thick pieces. (See video for a visual.) If using beef, cut into thin slices against the grain. If using chicken, cut into small cubes.
For the marinade:
Grind coriander, cumin seeds, and white peppercorns in a mortar and pestle until very fine, then add galangal, lemongrass and fresh turmeric (if using); pound until fine. Add turmeric powder (if using), cinnamon, clove, brown sugar, salt, vinegar, coconut milk, and water; stir to mix well.
Pour the marinade over the meat, massage with your hands, making sure that no pieces of meat are stuck together. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
For the peanut sauce:
In a food processor, grind the peanuts into a fine meal. If using sesame seeds, grind them into a fine meal using a spice/coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle, being careful not to over grind them into sesame butter.
In a small pot over medium heat, reduce ¼ cup of the coconut milk by about half. Add curry paste and cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes until it is very thick. If it thickens too quickly, add a splash of coconut milk to help loosen it up.
Stir in the rest of the coconut milk, ground peanuts, ground sesame seeds (if using), fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind juice. Simmer for a few more minutes until it has thickened into a dip consistency, stirring frequently to prevent the bottom from scorching.
Taste and adjust seasoning with more sugar, fish sauce, and tamarind juice as needed.
For the Quick Cucumber Pickle (Ajaad):
In a small pot, combine vinegar, sugar and salt; bring to a boil and cook just until the sugar is completely dissolved. Let cool completely.
Place the cucumber, shallots, and chilies into a small serving bowl and pour the cooled vinegar mixture over it. Keep covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.
To Grill:
(Note: You do not have to grill these; I sometimes just sear the skewers on a skillet on both sides to get a nice browning on the meat.)
Preheat the grill to medium.
Skewer the meat onto bamboo skewers, about 3 pieces to each skewer, and lay them flat on a tray. Brush the top side of the skewers with coconut milk, then place on the grill, coconut-nut-milk-side-down. Brush the other side with coconut milk and grill for a minute or so just until it is halfway cooked. Flip the skewers and grill the other side just until done. These are small and thin skewers and should only take a couple of minutes to grill, so watch them carefully and do not overcook them!
When ready to serve:
Finish the ajaad by pouring the cooled vinegar mixture over the vegetables. Place bread on the grill to toast (you can also just toast the bread in the toaster) and cut each piece of toast into 9 squares. Serve the grilled satay skewers on a platter alongside peanut sauce, ajaad, and toast.
Note: The toast is typically dipped into the peanut sauce, and the ajaad can be eaten in between bites as a palate cleanser or together with the satay.
Notes
If using chicken, both dark and white meat work well, but I prefer dark because it more moist and juicy, and is more forgiving should you overcook it slightly. If using beef, make sure you choose a tender cut, and cut the meat against the grain.
Keywords: Satay, street food, kabobs, grilling
Vi k
Literally the best ever. Most juicy chicken satay I have ever had (I used thigh meat which probably helped but still) and very flavorful. Got some nice crisped, almost caramelized bits from the grill, don’t be afraid of that. Thank you so much!!!
★★★★★
Wannatorn
Hi! I love your recipes. You make cooking Thai food look so easy! I have a question about the satay marinade. My son is allergic to coconut milk. Can I substitute regular milk for coconut milk? Thanks!
Pailin Chongchitnant
Thank you! You can use evaporated milk instead because that will get you a similar richness. Using regular milk will be too light
Blaine DeLancey
As always, the recipe is both delicious, well-written, and a learning experience! Another reason I bought the Hot Thai Kitchen Cookbook!
★★★★★
L
Do you have the correct measurements in metric system for this? So sorry
Pailin Chongchitnant
I do not for old recipes, unfortunately, working on updating them!
Kimberly
Cannot wait to try this recipe! In my area, it seems I only have access to tamarind concentrate. Can that be used instead of juice? I would assume just in a smaller qty perhaps?
Pailin Chongchitnant
Hi Kimberly, if the tamarind concentrate is from Thailand of Vietnam, and it is a brown pourable liquid, it can be used in the same amount. You've got the right stuff, just different labeling.
Vera
an you freeze chicken tenders with the marinade? if so, how much ahead of time do I defrost and how to proceed with the grilling?
Erin
Hi- wondering how much palm sugar for peanut sauce? I didn’t see the measurement in the ingredients.
Erin
Disregard. Writing down the ingredients and there it is right there. Sorry!
Erin
Disregard. I see it!
Ryan
.
★★★★★
Lan
How long can I keep the peanut sauce in the fridge?
Thank you
★★★★★
John Doe
Absolutely fantastic recipe I've made several times now. Going to print it out to keep for future generations to enjoy as well. :]
★★★★★
KP
Note: made only the Quick Cucumber Pickle (will get to the satay soon!) to accompany HTK pad Thai. Just delish! And EZ, too. Have tried multiple recipes for cucumber salad and this is, by far, the closest to our fav Thai restaurant's version. Clear recipe and hints in video are much appreciated. We're fans!
★★★★★
Alex
So delicious! This is by far the best satay recipe I’ve used. I do find the peanuts make the sauce very oily - I’m able to scrape this off once it cools in the fridge, but if I’m serving right away it’s a little greasy. Is there anything I can do with the peanuts to prevent this?
Pailin Chongchitnant
It's not the peanuts that cause it oil, it's the cooking down of the coconut milk, and it is actually traditional to have that layer of oil on top of satay sauce! But if you don't like it, once you start to see the oil separating, whisk in a little bit of water to help it re-emulsify.
Mark
I will be trying to make this in the summer!
My Thai friend likes to buy this from a street vendor (it's incredibly inexpensive) for breakfast but she prefers the chicken satay.
Debi
Incredible and I bought your book because of following some of your YouTube recipes.... Thai is our favourite!! Can’t believe during a pandemic I’ve been able to learn to cook Thai food thanks to your clear direction and helpful bang in suggestions!! Amazing
★★★★★
Max
This is, simply put: beautiful. I'm always suspicious of random recipe sites when I google a recipe, but during the video I went from suspicion straight to subscribing to the authors Youtube channel (and I'm not one to do so lightly).
★★★★★
Stephen Chan
I love moo satay, and Pai's recipe really recreates the real Thai flavour, except that I don't have a grill to make it 100% authentic😁
★★★★★