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!

My First Pan de Sal (Popular Filipino Breakfast Bread)

I've been craving for hot pandesal and the only way to satisfy my craving is to bake some.  It took me a while to find a good recipe that doesn't call for bread machine. I finally found two recipes that didn't need any bread machine.

Pan de sal means Salt Bread. This is a popular Filipino breakfast bread. Check HERE
for some fyi about the bread.

This first recipe is adapted from My Love for Food with some tweaking. Over all, this recipe is close to the pan de sal that i use to like. Although, it could use a little bit of sugar and more proofing time the next time i'll use this recipe.

Baking this pan de sal brought out the impatience in me, i knew that the bread needed another proofing w/c i did but for a short time. I also knew that my bread will not be as high as what a pan de sal is suppose to be. I know , i know, i'll give it more time to proof the next time i make them.

Ingredients:
1 C milk (lukewarm)
1/2 C water (lukewarm)
1 egg (room temperature)
1/4 C sugar (i'd probably add a little more)
3/4 t salt
5 T softened butter (i used unsalted)
2 T oil
4 C flour ( I used bread flour)
4 t dry yeat (I used 2 packets of fast rise yeast sometimes called rapid yeast)
Breadcrumbs (I used cornmeal)

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients first. Mix well for about 5 minutes or until ingredients are incorporated.

2. Add in the wet ingredients, mix for another 5 minutes or until the dough loosens from the sides of the bowl.

3. Sprinkle some flour on your bench table. Knead the dough with your hands by folding it then pushing it w/ the base of your palm for about 3-5 minutes or until the dough is elastic.

4. Put the dough back in the bowl. Cover it with cling wrap, put the dough in a warm place and let it rise until double in size.

5.  Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking sheet pans.

6. Form the dough into logs about 2 inches wide and long enough to make about 24 pieces of small size bread.

7. Arrange cut up breads on the baking sheet pans then sprinkle the top with cornmeal.

8, Let these proof again until they double in size.

9. Bake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes or until golden browned.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES WITH BLUEBERRY COMPOTE

This recipe is from THE COMMON GRILL COOKBOOK by Chef Craig Common

Buttermilk Pancake Mix:
1 1/4 C flour
2 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 1/2  C buttermilk
1 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
1 egg
2 t vanilla extract.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl; mix thoroughly.

In a separate bowl. whisk buttermilk, creme fraiche, eggs and vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and stir until blended.

Set aside until ready to serve.

BLUEBERRY COMPOTE:
1 C blueberries
1/4 C sugar
1/4 water

In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 C of the blueberries with the sugar and water. Simmer over low heat until berries burst, approximately 5 minutes. Add remaining berries. Continue cooking until mixture covers the back of a wooden spoon, approximately 3 to 4 minutes.

TO PREPARE BUTTERMILK PANCAKES: For each pancake, pour 1/4 C of the buttermilk pancake mix onto a hot griddle or pan. Cook until golden on both sides.

Place 3 or 4 pancakes on a serving plate and ladle Blueberry Compote over pancake. Top with whipped cream. Serve with warm pure maple syrup.