Malaysian Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce

Satay or Sate are little strips of skewered meat,chicken, fish or tofu that are usually grilled over a charcoal fire. None of my previous attempts at home made chicken satay could have prepared me for the delicious taste of real satay at a street hawker stall in Kuala Lumpur. I was surprised at how thin the chicken strips were. They were literally tiny morsels of super moist, flavorful, very lightly and beautifully spiced chicken. Every little bite was packed with the fragrance of lemongrass, coconut milk undertones and the smokiness from the charcoal grill. Rustic and succulent.



The chicken satay was served alongside tiny wedges of steamed rice cakes and a savoury sweet sauce which was sharp but in a pleasant kind of way. I was hooked! And I made it a point to eat them every day for the rest of the vacation. Gluttony.

Having turned vegetarian for close to three years now, I occasionally do a tofu - take on traditional recipes. So when I saw these perfect looking tofu skewers on Susan's wonderful blog, I just had to make it......with much hindrance from S.
Tofu satays??? I could tell that the meat-atarian husband wasn't thrilled. I usually get this reaction when I substitute tofu or beans or potatoes for chicken or meat or fish - in an "otherwise great recipe" that wasn't meant to be made with Tofu( according to him).



But then he loved them and asked that I make these again for his friends at a dinner next weekend. This is definitely an easy breezy appetizer to make when you have company. As all you have to do is whizz the marinade together, slice up and marinate the tofu and leave it the fridge until you're ready to grill them up!

I made my own version of the peanut sauce, as I didn't have the time to follow the suggested recipe. This recipe is based on the peanut sauce usually served at Thai restaurants in the USA. I loved the peanut sauce and it was great on toast for breakfast the next day!



Recipe

For the tofu satays look for the original recipe here and for Susan's clever modifications here .

Easy Peanut Sauce - recipe follows

Ingredients

4 tbsps of chunky/creamy peanut butter or 1/2 cup roasted and skinned peanuts
1 tbsp of lemongrass chopped
2 shallots
1 tsp of soy sauce
1/2 tsp of sugar
8 dried chillies + 1 clove garlic soaked in 1 tsp of vinegar overnight

Recipe

Simply blend the ingredients together and taste for the right balance of flavors. Adjust seasoning accordingly.

Note - soak the bamboo skewers overnight in water to prevent them from burning or getting charred when grilling.
I didn't grill these satays, I just pan fried them on a hot, lightly greased griddle on all four sides until cooked through and browned on the outside.

Thank you Susan for sharing this delicious recipe!