Easy Asian Pork Satay Recipe
Wok Cooking Recipe for Beginners Made Seriously Easy
The easiest and tastiest satay style recipe for beginners testing out their new wok and wanting versatile dishes using available ingredients.
Introduction
Wok cooking is incredibly easy; and creating dishes is a fun exercise. This tried and tested variation of a classic satay (sate) dish uses any white meat - pork or poultry - and can be made as hot and spicy as the chef wants.
Ingredients
The following serves 4 regular eaters. All ingredients can be adjusted to taste, so try it with small quantities first before scaling it up.
- Chicken/Turkey or Pork - about 400g, in bite-sized chunks
- An onion - chopped into loose cubes
- 2 cloves of garlic - crushed
- A piece of fresh ginger - chopped
- 1 teaspoonful of chili paste
- 2 tablespoonfuls of peanut butter
- 1 can of coconut milk
Rice as an accompaniment.
Method
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in the wok until hot enough that a piece of onion begins to sizzle right away. Drop the heat by one third, and put in the onion, ginger, and garlic.
Stir fry gently until the onion is just softening, but do not let any of the ingredients begin to brown. Add the meat, and continue to stir fry until it can be cut in two easily with a wooden spatula.
Add the peanut butter, and stir until everything is coated. Then add the chili paste (or Hot Pepper Sauce), and stir it in.
Finally, increase the heat by one third, and add the coconut milk. Continue stirring, and allow the mixture to bubble quietly.
At this point, the sauce should begin to thicken, but a little cornstarch will help the process if it is still too liquid. Now is also a good time to taste and add peanut butter (for a more salty dish) or chili (for a hotter dish).
The important ingredients are the chili paste, peanut butter and ginger - these are what give the dish a distinctive flavor. For those that can not obtain chili paste, good substitutes are chili powder (mild), or Hot Pepper Sauce. The peanut butter can be crunchy or smooth, but for the really nutty experience, chunky is recommended.
Some chefs prefer to use coconut powder, or solid coconut curd. Coconut powder should be prepared separately, according to the instructions, making about 100 ml per serving (so, 400 ml for this recipe).
If using solid coconut curd, it should be chopped into cubes, and each one added separately to the mixture, and allowed to melt in. Once all the coconut has been added, if the mixture is still too sticky, water can be added - about half a cup at a time - until the correct consistency is achieved.
Accompaniments
This dish is well suited to being part of a larger meal - perhaps with something to balance the satay flavor on the side - or just with some fluffy rice as a meal on it's own.
