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Perhaps the most widely
known peanut sauce in the world is satay, or saté
sauce, used for the small, grilled meat sticks of lamb,
beef, pork and chicken that likely originated in Malaysia
or Indonesia and spread to Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia
and the rest of Southeast Asia.
It is a wonderful expression
of the meeting of the worlds of influence in Southeast Asia;
satay is similar to the kebabs of Arabic and Northern India
and the ground peanut sauce of South America, but is punched
up by the local gingers and spices of Southeast Asia.
There are as many satay
peanut sauces as there are cooks in Southeast Asia. Thai
Peanut Dipping Sauce (from author and cooking teacher
Kasma Loha-Unchit) may well be one of the most complex.
However, this classic recipe uses every day fresh Thai ingredients
such as lemongrass, shrimp paste and several gingers pounded
together in a mortar and pestle.
Lesson:
Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce
Note how many essential and native flavors of Thailand —
the lemongrass, various gingers, shrimp paste and coconut
milk — color this cuisine's version of the peanut sauce.
Compare it to the Latin American peanut sauces, Ocopo
and Llapingachos.
You may want to try crushing
your peanuts in a Southeast Asian stone mortar and pestle
to compare the consistency and flavor of a sauce made by
traditional means with one made in a modern blender or processor.
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