Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

These tasty morsels are a treat for all the family. Basically a fancy way to serve chicken, perhaps a bit of work involved but they look fabulous and go along way.
You can use tenderloins, breast or thigh. I prefer thigh because they are a moister cut of meat, better for barbequing. You could also use beef or pork for a change.
The peanut sauce recipe makes about 2 cups, so you can make quite a few satays to go with it.
The meat I also prefer to be cut in longer thinner strips, before threading onto the skewers.
If you choose the buy your meat already cut in cubes, give them a gentle bash with a meat mallet to flatten slightly. If you don't  they can take a long time to cook all the way through.
Westerners seem to prefer to use peanut butter to crushed peanuts. I have used both methods. The peanut butter version is thicker and creamier, the crushed nuts a little crunchy and lighter in consistency

1 kilo Chicken thigh fillets thinly sliced
Wooden skewers ( soaked in water to stop them burning )
1/2 cup Coconut milk
2 tablespoons finely chopped Lemongrass
1 tablespoon Turmeric powder
1 tablespoon Coriander powder


Peanut Sauce

1 cup unsalted peanuts
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon tamarind puree ( you may use lemon juice )
3 tablespoons sweet thai chilli sauce or chilli powder to taste
1/3 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup water


Alternative Peanut sauce

1 cup  crunchy peanut butter
1 small onion finely chopped
2 cloves crushed garlic
1 tablespoon tamarind puree
2 tablespoons Red Thai Curry Paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup water

Slice the thigh fillets thinly. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together some salt. Place the sliced chicken into a plastic bag with the coconut milk mix and leave to marinate for at least an hour. This could also be done the night before.

Thread onto the wooden skewers at one end  leaving more than half free to keep from the flame of the barbecue.

Sauce
Which ever sauce you like the look of.....
Place the ingredients into a food processor all together and blend. You can keep any left over in a screw top jar in the fridge. You may need to add some more water when reheating to serve.
Also fabulous with noodles. Play around with the ingredients for alternatives.

Peanut Sauce made with fresh peanuts 

Peanut Sauce made with Peanut Butter