Moo Satay

I love Thai food.  OK, I love all food.  But for today, I love Thai food.

I'm no expert, but I know what I like. I have a love of red curry, green curry, peanut sauce, and a particular favorite, satay.

This recipe for pork satay comes from Real Thai, the Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking, by Nancie McDermott. McDermott lived in Thailand for three years.  She has written extensively, and taught courses about Thai cooking.

This recipe has quite a few ingredients, but all can be bought at a good grocery store or gourmet shot or Asian specialty shot.  The actual making of the dish is simple, mostly involving combing the ingredients. 

With a name like Moo Satay, you'd think it was beef.

Moo Satay (Grilled Pork on Skewers with Cucumber Salad and Spicy Peanut Sauce) from Real Thai.

Satay is skewers fo meat marinated in coconut milk and spices and grilled quickly over charcoal.  Originating in Indonesia, this tasty dish has traveled north up the peninsula to be adapted to suit local tastes by cooks in Malasia and Thailand.  It's street food, prepared by vendors with portable grills who set up shop near markets and popular restaurants.  Waitresses will pass along your satay order to the vendor, fetch it and obligingly figure the transaction into your total bill.

Thais use pork and a creamy peanut sauces for satay, while their predominantly Muslim neighbors to the south use beef.  Satay is delicious and a favorite with guests, but it takes some time to prepare, so plan ahead and call for help on the skewering and grilling work.

Meat

1/2 cup coconut milk
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 pound lean pork

Spicy Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons Red Curry Paste (you can buy this at most specialty stores.  McDermott's book tells you how to make your own.)
1/2 cup chunky-style peanut butter
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar
2 tablespoons tamarind liquid (she tells you how to make this from scratch, too) or freshly squeezed lime juice.
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt

Cucumber Pickles

1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 small cucumbers, or one large hothouse cucumber or Japanese cucumber
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped shallot or purple onion
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh hot chili
1 tablespoon finely chopped dry-roasted peanuts
A few fresh cilantro leaves

To prepare the meat, combine coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, cumin, coriander, and turmeric in a bowl and stir well.  Slice the pork into long, thin strips, about 3 inches by 1 inch.  Add the pork to the seasoned coconut milk, mix well, cover and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.  Immerse 60 small bamboo skewers in water to cover.

To prepare the sauce, warm the coconut milk in a small saucepan over medium heat.   Stirring occasionally, heat the milk until it reaches a gentle boil and tiny beads of oil glisten on the surface, about 5 minutes.  Add the curry paste and stir occasionally until it dissolves into the coconut milk and releases its fragrance, about 3 minutes.  Add the peanut butter, chicken stock  and sugar, and cook gently until the sauce is smooth, about 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and season with tamarind, fish sauce and salt.  Taste and adjust for a pleasing balance of sweet, sour and salty.  Cool to room temperature.

To prepare the pickle, combine the vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Bring to a gentle boil, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt.  Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.

Just before serving time, peel the cucumbers, slice them crosswise about 1/4 inch thick, and cut the slices in half.  Combine the cucumber slices with the vinegar dressing, shallot and chiles, and divide between 2 serving bowls.  Sprinkle each serving with peanuts and garnish with a few leaves of cilantro.

Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a gas grill or a broiler.  Set out prepared peanut sauce and cucumber pickles, and a serving platter for the meat.Thread a slice of the marinated meat onto each soaked bamboo skewer and place alongside the grill.

Grill the skewered meat until cooked, turning as needed, 4 to 6 minutes total cooking time.  Serve at once with peanut sauce and pickles.

Serves 6 to 8.

Note:  You can use chicken, beef or shrimp instead of pork, adjusting the grilling time as needed.

In Malaysia, satay comes with small, soft rice cakes, but in Thailand it's often served with toast points.  Both are pleasing additions for enjoying the delicious sauce.  Make the toast on the grill as you tend to the skewered meat.

Thai cooks make their own coarsely ground unsalted peanut butter.  To make your own, dry-fry raw peanuts or toast them in the oven until browned, then pound and grind them to a coarse paste in a mortar with a pestle.

This dish can be made in advance.  For the meat, mix the marinade ingredients and refrigerate for up to 1 day.  Combine the marinade with meat 1 to 2 hours before serving time.  For the cucumber pickles, make the dressing and refrigerate for up to 1 day.  Add the cucumbers, shallot, chili and garnishes just before serving so everything will be crisp.  For the satay sauce, make the sauce up to the point where you add the tamarind, fish sauce and salt. Cover and refrigerate the cooled sauce for up to one day.  At serving time, warm it very gently, add the seasonings, and serve warm or at room temperature.

[Satay image from Orchid Thai Catering.  Real Food cover image from the Nancie McDermott site.]