Chicken Satay and Thai Cucumber Salad

You will be hard pressed to find a Thai restaurant that does not have Chicken Satay on  the menu. I recently discovered that this popular dish is actually Malaysian in origin. Many versions of Chicken Satay make appearances all over Southeast Asia and now you don't have to travel to the Pacific Rim to enjoy this flavorful dish.  You can have a little bit of the Pacific Rim in your own kitchen. Coconut milk is key to achieving authentic flavor and adds a great flavor element that you will love.

Chicken Satay and Thai Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

1-½ lb of skinless boneless chicken breasts cut into strips

½ cup coconut milk

2 tablespoon of soy sauce

2 tablespoon of fish sauce (you can find this in the grocery store in the Asian section)

1 shallot ( finely chopped)

1 tablespoon fresh ginger ( grated)

1 clove of minced garlic

1 tablespoon of finely chopped lemon grass

1 tablespoon lime juice

1 tablespoon of  brown sugar

½ tablespoon of curry powder

salt and black pepper to taste

bamboo skewers ( soaked for 30 minutes )

1 cup of Thai Peanut Sauce ( Dipping Sauce ) – see recipe below

Directions:

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the milk, soy sauce, fish sauce, garlic, brown sugar, curry powder and ginger, mix well

2. Add the chicken and marinate 1-3 hours

3. Preheat your grill on medium heat and spray or brush with oil

4.Thread chicken onto the skewers while the grill is heating

5. Grill chicken satay 2-3 minutes per side, or until meat is cooked through and has light grill marks

6. Serve Chicken Satay warm with Peanut Dipping sauce and cucumber salad

Peanut Sauce (Dipping Sauce)

Ingredients:

1 cup of coconut milk

1 tablespoon of Thai curry paste such as Sambal

2 tablespoon of fish sauce

2 tablespoon of dark brown sugar

3 tablespoons of creamy peanut butter

I tablespoon lime juice 

1 teaspoon soy sauce

Cooking Directions:

1. Bring 3/4 cup of coconut milk to boil.

2. Immediately stir in the Thai curry paste.

3. Add fish sauce, lime juice, soy sauce and sugar, mix well.

4. Add the peanut butter, mix well and make sure it is well incorporated.

5. Finish it with the remaining coconut milk. Cook for 1 more minute.



Grilling is what takes this dish to the next level. If you don't have a grill, you can bake and then place it under the broiler for the last couple of minutes of cooking.

This cucumber salad is sublime...I want you to experience it too, so check out the recipe below

Thai Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:
1/2 cup white or rice wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 large cucumbers peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons thinly sliced shallots or coarsely chopped red onion
2 teaspoons thinly sliced small red or green Thai chilies (If you cant find them, Serrano or Jalapeno work great)

Directions:
1) Combine vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a medium saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar and salt dissolve. Set aside. Cool.
2) Add sliced cucumbers to cooled mixture and combine with chili peppers and red onion or shallots

How much more of this can you stand? Go get your ingredients and lets cook!



This is too good not to share. I wish you could join me for lunch!