Satay

Satay is a sweet spicy peanut sauce that is often used in Thai cooking.  This is a variation of a stove top satay that a Mother Unit makes which my brother, Golden Artisan Man loves.  I have made the original version for him as a Christmas gift in the past.  The family likes to serve this with shrimp ladled over rice.  In this modified version lemons were swapped out for limes to be more consistent with classic Thai flavors.  The spices were ramped up significantly, in some cases doubled.  More brown sugar was added to account for the use of 100% pure peanut butter, fresh ground at Winco. Most commercially prepared peanut butters have large amounts of sugar and other oils in them.   The original stove top version was simple enough, but this was even simpler.

Winner, Loser, or Meh

This was so good. I made it last night and actually ate some today  I really think it needs to have wedges of lime and cilantro as a garnish for serving. The taste is reminiscent of a warmed version of the dressing on a California Pizza Kitchen Thai Crunch Salad.  My camera is not being friendly, so sorry for the less than appetizing shot featured here.  This is oh so much better than the picture suggests.

Recipe

I used a 2 1/2-3 quart crock for this

Ingredients:

• 1 1/3 cup peanut butter (I used fresh ground 100% peanuts)
• 6 Tbls brown sugar
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 15 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 large sweet onion, peeled, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 2 green or red peppers or combination, seeded, cored and chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 Tbls plus 2 tsps soy sauce
• 2 tsps chili paste 
• juice of two limes (about 4 Tbls)

Add all ingredients except the lime juice to the crock.  Stir well. (I used a potato masher).  Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8.  (I did high for 3 1/2).  Stir in lime juice.  Add more water if thinner consistency is desired.  Serve warm over rice.