Wednesday, January 13, 2010

PORK SATAY- DARING COOKS CHALLENGE FOR JANUARY 2010

Wow! I thought i couldn't make this months challenge due to weather, job schedule etc..etc.. who am i kidding, not a chance, i want to give my 2 cents on Cuppy's challenge. So this was a photofinish, we just had this for our lunch today, but my pork had been marinating overnight.

Forget the -0 degree weather and the snow, i decided to brave the weather and grilled my satay in lieu of the oven broil! I admit, it was a bit weird and funny grilling on a snowy winter day=;).

This months challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious . Satay! Thanks for this challenge Cuppy I love satay, sate, bbq however it's called. This kind of food is ubiqitous in Asian countries, you'll see satay/bbq booths in every street corner in majority or i'd say all Asian countries.

As i was skiming through the recipe i immediately noticed that it wasn't an authentic Thai Satay recipe, but as i perused Cuppys' message she mentioned that her recipe is a Thai inspired dish which then made sense. Authentic or not this recipe is worth the grilling on a snowy day. I followed the recipe closely with a little bit of tweaking on the acid ingredient. I used lime instead of lemon just because i know that lime is used more than lemon in Asia. I deliberately didn't add fish sauce/patis just so i can compare a satay recipe sans the fish sauce and my satay recipe w/c calls for fish sauce. Really, this is great as well! I'm definitely using this recipe again, this time w/ chicken.

I opted to use porkbelly. I took out the skin w/c i saved, to be made into chicharon later. I love the marbling of the porkbelly, it'll help keep the satay moist and more flavorful for sure.

Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce


Satay Marinade

1/2 small onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 T ginger root, chopped (optional) (2 cm cubed)- I only used the juice

2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)- 2  lime and zest

1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)- I used cilantro roots

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.


Faster (cheaper!) marinade:

2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (1 oz or 30 mls)

2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)

1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)

1 tsp ginger powder (5 mls)

1 tsp garlic powder (5 mls)

1 tsp cayenne pepper (5 mls)

Directions:

1b. Mix well.

2b. Cut pork into 1 inch thick strips (2-2.5 cm thick), any length.

3b. 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.

Cooking Directions (continued):

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 chilies, 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)

 
Braved the -0 degrees and snow just because i want my Pork Satay grilled=;)


Fresh grilled Pork Satay on a Snowy day!


Lovely!


I made 2 dips, the peanut sauce dip w/ Thai bird chili and ground peanuts for texture
and the pepper soy sauce dip
I prefer the peanut sauce for this dish.


Served the pork satay w/ white rice, w/ the 2 sauces, Shrimp chips and some braised Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli)




This is a great tool to extract ginger juice.


Braised Gai Lan (Chinese Broccoli) with Hoisin Sauce


Shrimp Chips - these are always served w/ your soup in every Thai Restaurant.


Again, Khob Khun Ka, Cuppy! Sawasdee!

28 comments:

  1. Pork belly! You win. I was thinking that pork belly would make excellent satay but I had already thought out 4 other versions. Excellent job.

    As I bought charcoal the other day, the checker says "are you really going to grill in this weather?". I answered, "Damn straight".

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  2. Oh man, my mom taught me to say it out loud, but I haven't the foggiest how to spell it... Yindee kaa? I'm very glad you liked it. :)

    Yarr, it's definitely "inspired" and not authentic. :) I was looking for something that could be familiar and exotic at the same time for everyone.

    And, OMG <3 Gai Lai!!! I'm definitely doing that next time instead of spinach!

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  3. Hi, Robert. Welcome back! It's so nice to see you around again. It was no question as to what kind of meat i'd use. Porkbelly is the best.

    I knew you're the King of the grill during winter season ha!ha!ha! Seriously it was cold, i'd have my second thoughts if ever i'll grill on a snowy day again.

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  4. Love your prawn crackers (so colourful) and that picture of the satay and the snow really shows a lot of commitment. And yes I should of thought of pork belly we can get beautiful meat from the local Asian shop. And I love the addition of chillies/crushed peanuts in the sauce good job. And thank you for your ever kind words you left on my blog.

    Yes I should of tried the challenge recipe but I have a lot Thai food and couldn't bare the idea of cumin. I will try the challenge recipe this weekend again.

    Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia where is it 40C in the shade.

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  5. amazing job. it looks delicious. I used limo ( a little charred ) to sprinkle on the plate. it gives a nice bite and at the same time a lovely fragrance to the dish.

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  6. Delicious satays, the peanut sauce is perfect - smooth and blended so well!

    Must have been a double challenge for grilling in snowy weather... :-)

    Sawadee from Bangkok,
    Kris

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  7. Hi, Audax! Hey, whatever it takes to finish the challenge=;) It was an in and out process, out to flip and check the satay then go in the house to warm up then out again....

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  8. Hi, Wic..i love the grilling of the lime and roasting the spices. Will definitely do that on my next satay.

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  9. Hi, Kris. Yes, it was a double challenge indeed but it was worth it=;)

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  10. Those shrimp chips are gorgeous! And I bet it would be worth it to grill this outside even in the snow. When I get my own grill, this is first on top of my list of things to make :)

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  11. Cuppy! Wrong spelling or not...you're welcome as well! This was another great challenge!

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  12. Hi, Rochelle, it was worth it but felt weird and funny grilling on a winter day!

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  13. I would love to grill my meat - but didn't have equipment etc.
    Pork belly - what a great idea!!!
    Cheers. Anula.

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  14. Pork belly, wow that sounds delish! So great that you braved the cold and grilled you satay. Great job on the challenge!

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  15. O you actually grilled them outside! Wow... very impressive! :) Love the look and that pork belly must have been delicious!

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  16. Looks fantastic. We also spiced ours up a bit and didn't fret whether the recipe was authentic. What matters is that it tastes good!

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  17. Great choice of meat, the fats must be super yummy!

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  18. I think pork belly would be a good choice in terms of having tender tasty satays. Great job on your challenge.

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  19. Oh, Pia, your satay looks incredible..so moist, perfectly cooked and delicous, and the photos are gorgeous. LOVE LOVE LOVE shrimp chips..and miss them , since it's been a while since I've had them Thanks for opening me up to them again!

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  20. Yum yum yum!! Wow i love your pork satay! and the mention of chicharon just made me drool!!

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  21. your pork satay looks so yummy..I love the way you served your rice and the chinese broccoli looks so appetizing as well..you really did a great job on the challenge! :

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  22. Hi, Anula. Your satay is great too! Really, i'm not grilling on a winter snowy day anymore=;)

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  23. Hello, Jenny! Porkbelly was my first choice, my mom uses porkbelly everytime she does bbq the Asian way. I'm not grilling on a snowy day again but at least i get to experience how it feels ha!ha!

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  24. Hi, Ann! Yes, indeed..the fat were yummy=;)

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  25. Thanks, Jo! I live grilling pordbelly.

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  26. Thanks, Lisamichele. I always have the shrimp chips. I like them w/ any Asian soup.

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  27. Thanks, Chef_D! Yup, i'll be making pork and chicken chicharon soon!

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  28. Thanks, Olive! Oh, i know, i save all those "bagul" that's how bisaya calls the coconut shells. Believe it or not i have the coconut "kudkuran". You know the coconut blade we use there. My mom brought me 2 blades from the Philippines and my husband made me the "kabayo". I grate my own fresh coconuts and use the shells for presentations.

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