Thai Night - Pork Satay and Peanut Sauce

So, last night I made what we thought (and our guests agreed) was delicious!

First is the Pork Satay. I loved to death the satay at the Thai restaurant I worked at, so I definitely wanted to find a good recipe. I searched long and hard and found many different versions. The reason I went with this one was because 1) It seemed pretty authentic, 2) It seemed authentic without making me buy a bunch of ingredients I'd never used or even heard of from the Asian Market that I might have only used for this dish, and 3) It was made by Bobby Flay (he's on the Food Network and I think he's an Iron Chef), so I trusted it. I have a hard time using recipes unless I can read comments from many people who have made the same recipe (this is because I've been spoiled by allrecipes.com). So here it is, with my own comments.

Bobby Flay's Pork Satay

Ingredients

Marinade:
• 1 1/2 cups coconut milk - about 1 13.5 oz. can (I used Chaokoh brand)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter (I used Adam's Natural Peanut Butter because I used that for the peanut sauce)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I used bottled)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Thai chile pepper, seeded and finely chopped (I used jalepeno)
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. salt

• 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch thick cubes (I used pork chops and cut it into strips. So tender and very easy)
• Wooden skewers

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl, add pork and let marinate 2 to 4 hours.
Preheat the grill. Soak skewers.
Remove the pork from the marinade and thread on skewers. Grill for 7 to 8 minutes or until cooked through.

So there's the meat! Now for the dipping sauce. Here's the blog where I got the recipe. I really liked her blog. She also had an awesome way to make sticky rice without the traditional big bamboo steamer, so look that up. But I love this peanut sauce because a Thai person uses it, so obviously it's close enough in taste to the more complicated version, but easy!

Peanut Sauce

1 13.5 oz. can of Chaokoh coconut milk
¼ c. Thai Red Curry Paste (try Mae Ploy or Maesri)
¾ c. unsweetened natural peanut butter (I used Adam's - you want the ones that have the oil at the top that you have to mix in)
½ tsp. salt
¾ c. sugar
2 Tbsp. cider or white vinegar
½ c. water

Bring everything to a gentle boil over medium heat, constantly whisking. Let simmer over low heat for 3-5 minutes (make sure doesn’t scorch on bottom of pan). Can be refrigerated for several weeks.

This peanut sauce is so addicting. Last night, they even put it on their corn. At the Thai restaurant, my favorite thing to do was to dip sticky rice in it. This stuff is way similar to the peanut sauce they made, and it's so easy. So many authentic recipes told you to buy tamarind and made tamarind paste but it's purely for the acid, so why not just cheat and use vinegar? I don't doubt it could be better, but I loved it.

So, make this with some jasmine rice and you have a great meal!