Satay Peanut Saucr with Grilled Vegetables, Fried Tofu, and Toast

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Recipes for Tamarind Liquid, Red Curry Paste, and Sweet and Sour Cucumber Salad

will follow.

 

 

* Exported from MasterCook *

 

Satay Peanut Sauce with Grilled Vegetables, Fried Tofu, and Toast

 

Recipe By :Real Vegetarian Thai - Nancie McDermott

Serving Size : 6 Preparation Time :0:00

Categories :

 

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

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Satay Peanut Sauce

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk

2 tablespoons Red Curry Paste

3/4 cup Vegetable Stock

2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar

1/4 cup freshly ground salted, dry-roasted peanuts

or peanut butter

2 tablespoons Tamarind Liquid or freshly squeezed lime

or lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Vegetables and Tofu

6 zucchini

6 Japanese eggplants

3 red sweet peppers

20 small fresh button mushrooms

1/3 cup vegetable oil, plus additional oil for

deep frying

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 teaspoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 slices white bread

8 ounces firm tofu

 

Thais learned this sauce from Malaysian cooks, and while the dish has southern

Thai roots, it has spread to every corner of the kingdom. Street vendors make

up their signature sauces in the morning and then travel to every gathering

place. There they set up shop, fan charcoal into hellish flames to grill

skewered foods, and dish out little saucers of peanut sauce and piquant cucumber

salad to garnish each platter. Serving grilled vegetables and fried tofu with

peanut sauce is my vegetarian adaptaion for the usual skewers of meat, but the

toast is 100% Thai. You will find this West-meets-East touch in upcountry

Thailand, where it is offered alongside standard meat kebabs as a traditional

means of soaking up every last bit of scrumptious sauce. Put the zucchini and

other vegetables in their marinade while you prepare the peanut sauce and

cucumber salad. The sauce can cool to room temperature and the salad can

develop its tangy flavors while you grill foods to enjoy along w!

ith them.

To make the sauce, warm the coconut milk in a sacepan over medium heat until it

comes to a gentle boil. Simmer, stirring now and then, until it releases its

sweet fragrance and thickens a bit, about 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and

cook for 3 to 4 minutes longer, mashing and scraping to dissolve the paste and

mix everything well. Add the vegetable stock and sugar and simmer for 5

minutes, stirring once or twice. Add the peanuts or peanut butter and cook for

3 minutes more, stirring as needed to dissolve the peanut butter iinto the

sauce. Remove from heat and season with the tamarind or citrus juice and salt,

stirring to mix well. Set aside to cool to room temperature. At this point,

the sauce can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days; reheat gently and thin

with a little vegetabble stock before serving.

Make the cucumber salad and set it aside to allow the flavors to blend.

To prepare the vegetables, trim the ends form the zucchini and Japanese

eggplants and cut in half lengthwise. Stem and seed the sweet peppers and cut

them into 2-inch squares. Trim the base of each mushroom stem but leave whole.

In a medium bowl, combine the 1/3 cup vegetable oil, curry powder, soy sauce,

and salt and mix well. Add the zucchini, eggpplants, sweet peppers, and

mushrooms and toss to coat well. Set aside for 30 minutes. (they can also be

covered and refrigerated as long as overnight, tossing now and then.)

When you are ready to cook the vegetables, prepare a very hot fire in a grill.

Thread the sweet peppers and mushrooms on bamboo skewers and place them on the

grill rack along with the zucchini and eggplant halves, cut side down. Cook

until tender and nicely charred, turning often to cook them evenly, about 5

minutes. Transfer to a platter and let cool until warm or at room temperature,

5 minutes or longer.

Meanwhile, place the bread slices on the grill rack and toast them on both sides

to a handsome, golden crunchy state. Remove from the grill and cut each twice

on the diagonal into 4 triangles. Remove the crusts first if you want the most

traditional look, and leave them on if you like crust as I do. Set aside near

the cooling vegetables.

Meanwhile, in a skillet, pour in vegetable oil to a depth of several inches and

place over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes. While it heats, cut the tofu

in half horizontally to form 2 blocks. Cut each block lengthwise into thirds

and then crosswise in half. This will give you 12 thick rods of tofu. Blot

them dry on a clean kitchen towel and set aside. Line a plate with paper towels

and place near the stove along with a slotted spoon or long-handled Asian-style

wire strainer.

When the oil is hot, 350 to 365 degrees F gently slide 3 rods of tofu into the

oil and cook, turning once or twice to brown evenly, until crispy and golden

brown, about 3 minutes. Using the slotted spoon or wire strainer, remove from

the oil, draining briefly over the pan, and transfer to the towel-lined plate to

drain well. Continue cooking the remaining tofu in the same way.

To serve, make up two or more platters, putting a small bowl of peanut sauce, a

small bowl of cucumber salad, and a beautiful assortment of grilled vegetables,

fried tofu, and toast triangles on each. The vegetables, tofu, and toast are

all delicious dipped in the sauce.

 

 

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Per serving: 146 Calories (kcal); 3g Total Fat; (19% calories from fat); 8g

Protein; 23g Carbohydrate; 1mg Cholesterol; 759mg Sodium

Food Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1/2 Fat; 0

Other Carbohydrates

 

 

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0