Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

I will be the first to admit that I have quite a few cookbooks.  I love reading them as much as reading a novel.  I use most of them occasionally, some often,  and others are simply to be read for entertainment.

Having said that, we do grill approximately 85% of our dinners in Florida and Montana.  I have to say that the Trout knows his way around the grill.  I usually do the sides.  So, finding one more cookbook seemed a little crazy, but I am so glad we did.  We picked up this cookbook, William Sonoma Grill Master  by Fred Thompson at Lowe's.  We have been using it weekly with happy surprises coming off the grill.  There is a section of sauces, marinades and rubs and a large section of sides that are worth talking about.

One thing we do cook on our stove is stir-fry.  We do this often as we "clean out" the vegetable drawer.  But this is a Thai recipe that I know my Montana friend, Chris, would love.  I have a favorite peanut sauce that we use a lot, but this time I took the one out of the new cookbook and we really, really loved it.

If you are serious about grilling and want some outstanding recipes to move things up a notch, I would really suggest adding this cookbook to your kitchen library.

Chicken Satay with Spicy Peanut Sauce

Adapted from William Sonoma Grill Master

For the Marinade:

1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon curry powder
Freshly ground pepper

4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
wooden or metal skewers

Stir together the marinade and set aside.

Pound chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap until 1/2" thick.  Cut into lengthwise strips and put all chicken pieces into a large zip-loc plastic bag and pour in the marinade.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 8 hours.

Thirty minutes before grilling, remove the chicken from the refrigerator.  Discard the marinade and pat the chicken strips dry with paper towels.

Prepare the grill.  Thread chicken strips lengthwise onto skewers.  Place on the grill and cook, turning once until grill marked on both sides, opaque and still moist, about 4-5 minutes on each side.

Pass with the following peanut sauce.

Spicy Peanut Sauce
2 cups coconut milk
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter - my substitute
(Recipe calls for 1/4 chop chopped unsalted dry roasted peanuts and 2 tablespoons peanut butter)
2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon green curry paste (I substituted red curry paste as it is milder)
1 teaspoon paprika
1 clove garlic, finely minced

In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce, lime juice, sugar, curry paste, paprika and garlic.  Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally, then cook until thickened and reduced by half, 15-20 minutes.  Set aside.  Serve warm or room temperature.


Cucumber Salad
adapted from Grill Master

3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large English cucumber
1/2 small red onion

In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves.  Whisk in oil.

Thinly slice the cucumber and onion.  Using a mandoline makes this easy.  Add to the bowl and gently toss together.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving.

This cucumber salad as the perfect touch to the chicken satay.  One thing missing....jasmine rice would have been nice.

Cukes, shrimp, dipping sauce.....yummm

The Trout is a regular reader of Wine Spectator.  When he found this recipe, along with a video showing how to prepare it, he was very excited and started the grocery list.  This was a very nice first course.  I can see preparing this often.  In fact, the dipping sauce was so great, we have prepared that again as a substitute for the traditional chili sauce and horseradish sauce for shrimp cocktail.  A very nice change, though I really do love horseradish!!

Cucumber Rolls with Shrimp Ceviche and Spicy Oriental-style Dipping Sauce
Makes 10-12 rolls

2 Kirby or English cucumbers

For the shrimp ceviche:
1 scallion finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely grated
1/2 lb. shrimp, cooked, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 Tbsp. freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
3 Tbsp. lime juice
3 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Spicy Oriental Dipping Sauce
1 Tbsp. hot chili pepper sauce (Be very afraid)
1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. dark sesame oil
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds
1 Tbsp. white toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup red, green and yellow bell pepper, very finely diced
1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro

Prepare the cucumber by cutting off both ends and then cutting lengthwise into very thin slices.  Arrange on paper towels and sprinkle with salt and let sit 30 minutes.

Prepare the ceviche by assembling all the ingredients in a large bowl.  Season to taste and let marinade in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.  In true ceviche, the fish, or shrimp in this case, would be added raw to the marinade and the citrus in the juice would "cook" the fish.  Even the author of this recipe believes that boiling the shrimp for at least 1-2 minutes is necessary. 

Prepare the dipping sauce and reserve.

Rinse the cucumbers and dry with a paper towel.  Make a roll and secure with a toothpick.  Add a few spoonfuls of the shrimp ceviche and continue until all the cucumbers slices have been rolled and filled.
Arrange on a serving platter and spoon the spicy dipping sauce over each roll and sprinkle the rest around the rolls.  Serve at once.