Confession Nook: Daring Cook

Ehem...(clearing throat)

My last Daring Cooks' Challenge was July last year. (what a shame sssh

hhh....)

Now to start the year, I want to be part of the Daring Kitchen's Daring Cooks' again. I haven't cooked/baked for quite sometime, well, you know, other than the usual dishes I make at home, but create something new, nada.

Satay? I have not tried this before. It's a Thai dish and I LOOOVVVEEED it!

Here it is: My take on Daring Cooks' January 2010 Challenge by the lovely Cuppy who chose a Thai-inspired recipe from the book -1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

Presenting, Satay Chicken!

Satay Chicken with Peanut Sauce

Satay Marinade

1/2 small onion minced
2 garlic cloves minced
1 T ginger root grated
2 T lemon juice (1 oz or 30 mls)----I used 5 calamansi/lemonsito
1 T soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp ground coriander (5 mls)
1 tsp ground cumin (5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric -----I don't have this, I used 1 tsp Achuete instead
2 T vegetable oil (or peanut or olive oil) (30 mls) 1/2 kilo/pound of meat cut in 1 inch strips ----I used chicken breast
1 tsp of salt ---not included in the original recipe, just added some, I feel like the soy didn't provide that much saltiness =) OK, fine I am a salt-y person! =)

The host of this challenge Cuppy of Cuppylicious suggested that if you want to make it more Thai, just add dragon chilli, extra tablespoon of ginger and 1 tbsp of fish sauce.

Directions:

1a. Cheater alert: If you have a food processor or blender, dump in everything except the meat and blend until smooth.

In a bowl, cover meat with marinade. I marinated the chicken strips in 10 minutes ONLY- then roll the chicken strips one by one and secure it with a skewer cut into short lengths or toothpick, in this way, it gets to hold the marinade+bits inside which makes it super flavorful, not to mention, juicy, perfect!

Put the chicken back into bowl, cover and marinate in the fridge for 30minutes to 1 hour. In the original recipe, you have to marinate the chicken for 2-12 hours, but I chose not to since the chicken breast is tender enough, and I don't want to overcook the meat with the acid from the lemon juice (it'll get super dry when cooked), as with the flavor, it's as flavorful as you would want it to be! =) Now on with the sauce!

Peanut Sauce

3/4 cup coconut milk (6 oz or 180 mls)
4 Tbsp peanut butter (2 oz or 60 mls)---I used Ladies Choice Sweet crunchy peanut butter- one with bits of peanuts for texture
1 Tbsp lemon juice (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 Tbsp soy sauce (0.5 oz or 15 mls)
1 tsp brown sugar (5 mls)---I didn't add this one as the peanut butter is sweet already but if you are going to use the peanut butter for cooking (without sugar) then add this.
1/2 tsp ground cumin (2.5 mls)
1/2 tsp ground coriander (2.5 mls)
1-2 dried red chilies, chopped (keep the seeds for heat)

Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl.

Add soy sauce and lemon, mix well.

Over low heat, combine coconut milk, peanut butter and your soy-lemon-seasoning mix. Stir often. When the peanut butter is melted, then it's done. Reheat if necessary.

Cooking Directions : 2 Methods

Pan fry on medium-high for 3minutes on each side until it turns golden brown. - I opted for this method.

Make sure that your oil is not so hot and take off the bits of spices outside the meat to prevent from burning since the spices tend to cook faster than the meat. Don't worry, you still have those bits inside the rolled chicken strips.

Grill or Broil at 290C/550F--brush once with extra marinade when you flip the skewer.

Serve with the peanut sauce and have fun eating!

My sous chef was contantly bugging me the whole time, could not even concentrate on what I was doing. But obviously he is my sous chef/taste tester so I couldn't get rid of him and his verdict? He said "Lamia ani Mommie oi!" which means "This is yummy Mommie!" =)weeee

Visit The Daring Kitchen for the original recipe posted by Cuppy- you could also use some extra dip recipes for this dish!

ขอให้เจริญอาหาร! Mangaon ta! =)

This is my first submission to the The Daring Kitchen: Daring Cook's Challenge- July. The concept of the dish was based on Molecular Cuisine- A dish from Grant Achatz, found in the Alinea cookbook - page 230. The month's challenge was hosted by Sketchy who chose a recipe that could be completed without having to order a bunch of specialized chemicals or powders.

Indeed, you don't have to order powders because you will be making it! What a challenge indeed!

I was a bit intimidated by this dish when I first had the chance to open the forum. One of the tools the dish called for was a dehydrator? What on earth is a dehydrator! Oh dear... and we don't have any extra cooking utensils, no mortar and pestle, no coffee grinder, no sifter....i am doomed!

But, as I moved onto the host's post, a microwave could be used in lieu of the dehydrator and so is the oven too. Thank God we have oven and a microwave. So, I decided to go on with the challenge.

The original recipe used cod but since you get to substitute any other fish you like, I used Lapu-Lapu or Red Grouper. How I love this fish!

Everything was done in the microwave except for the coconut powder (substitute for milk powder)which was baked in the oven and because we don't have a mortal and pestle, I used a thick glass mug and wrapped the herbs and spices in a white bond paper individually...pounded each with a mug... I had to go out to our local store to buy a small sifter...

I got an A+++ from Audax Artifex for using a mug to pound the herbs and spices =P..a daring move indeed and made me an official Daring Cook! weeeee

These are the changes I made:

Milk Powder: Coconut Powder

Fish: Grouper

Powders:

Chilli: Red

Lemon: Yellow (next to red chilli powder)

Onion: Brown

Chives: Green

Ginger: Yellow

Slicing of banana and fine beans

Verdict:

The dish was delicious! The spices just sort of marry in your mouth the moment you chew it. I don't have the technical terms to explain it but the contrast with the sweetness of banana, the grouper and the fine beans and the tangy and spicy flavors of the powdered herbs were absolutely mind blowing!