Satay Sauce

• 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp - 275ml coconut milk (1 small tin)
• ½ cup peanut butter (or use one cup fresh shelled peanuts)
• 2 tbsp Ketjap Manis (sweet soy sauce) 

• Step 1
  Place a saucepan on moderate heat.  Add the coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer.
  
• Step 2
  Add some red curry paste
  
• Step 3
  Add the ketjap manis, (that’s a sweet soy sauce). And mix well over low heat.
  
• Step 4
  If you have time, for the peanuts, place them in a tray And roast for approx 15 minutes at 350°F – 180°C.  Remove from oven, peel the skins and crush the nuts using a mortar and pestle.
  
• Step 5
  If you don’t have time, use peanut butter. Add the peanut butter to the sauce and mix well over low heat.

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Serves: 3.5 cups

Ingredients

• One 400gm-ounce can of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 ounces (approximately ¼ cup) of Thai red (mom’s preference and mine too) or Massaman curry paste (milder but flavorful)
• ¾ cup unsweetened (natural) creamy peanut butter (Do not use regular peanut butter or anything with added emulsifiers. It must be the type of natural peanut butter that comes with natural peanut oil on top and no sugar added. I often use Smucker's.)
• ½ tablespoon salt
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (Do not use white wine, red wine, balsamic, or anything else — not even rice vinegar)
• ½ cup water

Instructions

1. Put everything into a medium heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
2. Let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat; be careful not to let the mixture scorch at the bottom of the pot.
3. Take the pot off the heat, let the sauce cool down to room temperature (or slightly warmer), and serve the sauce with satay or fried tofu.

Notes

This peanut sauce keeps in a glass container in the refrigerator for weeks. Refrigerated sauce will thicken up considerably. All you have to do is thin it out with a little bit of water to desired consistency, reheat, and serve. The sauce also freezes beautifully. I prefer Maesri red curry paste. But you can also use Mae Ploy red curry paste (it's hotter). A lot of people like to use massaman curry paste, and you can do that too. Originally, Mom used roasted peanuts, ground up in a mortar and pestle. For those who feel the use of natural peanut butter in this recipe is blasphemous, please feel free to go that route. But then, what is unsweetened, natural peanut butter if not roasted peanuts ground up into a paste? For those living in areas of the world where commercial natural peanut butter is not available, please grind up 12 ounces of roasted peanuts using whatever means most convenient for you. Then use the peanut paste in the same manner as peanut butter as directed.

 Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shelled peanuts (3 ounces; 85g)
• 1 tablespoon palm or light brown sugar (1/2 ounce; 15g)
• 3 medium cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegan Thai red or Massaman curry paste
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) tamarind concentrate
• 2 tablespoons (30ml) vegetable oil
• Dry chili flakes, to taste (optional)

Directions

1. 1.
   If You Have a Mortar and Pestle (Recommended): Toast peanuts on a rimmed baking sheet in a 375°F oven or toaster oven until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. Combine sugar and garlic in the mortar and pound with the pestle into a smooth paste. Add peanuts and pound to form a chunky paste. Add soy sauce, curry paste, and tamarind concentrate and firmly stir with a circular motion until a homogeneous chunky mixture is formed. Add vegetable oil and stir to combine. Add water to thin to a pourable but still thick consistency. Adjust heat with chili flakes, if desired.
2. 2.
   If You Have a Food Processor: Toast peanuts on a rimmed baking sheet in a 375°F oven or toaster oven until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool. Combine peanuts, sugar, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until a chunky paste is formed. Add soy sauce, curry paste, tamarind concentrate, and oil and process until a chunky homogeneous mixture is formed. Pulse in water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until sauce reaches a pourable but thick consistency. Adjust heat with chili flakes, if desired.
3. 3.
   Sauce can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator for several weeks.

Pad Ka-Prao

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 1 pound of ground pork, beef, or chicken (You can do what I do here which is chop up 1 pound of skinless chicken breasts with a cleaver. You get better texture that way.)
• 7 (26g) large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 7 (16g) bird’s eye chilies (or however many you can tolerate)
• 1 large shallot (20g), peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons thin/light soy sauce or seasoning sauce (such as Golden Mountain aka "the Green Cap" sauce")
• 1 tablespoon dark sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 1 cup holy basil leaves, packed

Instructions

1. If you have a mortar, pound together the garlic, chilies, and shallot until you get a coarse paste. If no mortar, either chop them all up with a cleaver on a chopping block or pulse them into a coarse paste in a mini-chopper.
2. In a skillet, heat up the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the paste to it and fry until fragrant.
3. Add the meat to the skillet and break it up with the spatula into small pieces.
4. Add the remaining ingredients (except the basil leaves), correcting seasoning as needed.If you think you'd like it even sweeter, either add about a teaspoon of palm or brown sugar or double the amount of dark sweet soy sauce
5. Once the meat is cooked through, check the amount of liquid in the skillet. If it’s too dry, add a little bit of water or sodium-free broth.
6. Before taking the skillet off the heat, add the basil leaves to the mixture and give it a couple of stirs. We only want to wilt the basil with the residual heat that is still in the pan so as not to mute the fragrance of the fresh holy basil leaves.
7. Serve over rice. A Thai-style crispy fried egg on top and a tiny bowl of nam-pla prik would be nice.

Pizza sauce

Ingredients

• 2 (400 grams) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 medium cloves garlic, grated on microplane grater (about 2 teaspoons)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• pinch red pepper flakes
• Kosher salt
• 2 six-inch sprigs fresh basil with leaves attached
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and split in half
• 1 teaspoon sugar

Procedures

1. Process tomatoes and their juice through food mill, pulse in food processor until pureed, or puree with hand blender. Puree should not be completely smooth, but should have no chunks larger than 1/16 of an inch. Set tomatoes aside.
   
   
2.  Combine butter and oil in medium saucepan and heat over medium-low heat until butter is melted. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and large pinch salt and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant but not browned, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, basil sprigs, onion halves, and sugar. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to lowest setting (bubbles should barely be breaking the surface), and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced by 1/2, about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and store in covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.