John Torode's chicken and prawn satay skewers
John's teaching us how to make the easiest version of satay sauce using a kitchen cupboard staple, peanut butter. It's so simple and delicious you'll want to use it on meats, fish and veggies!
John Torode’s Cheats Satay Skewers
Makes 16 small skewers
Ingredients
8 chicken thighs, cut into long, thin strips OR32 large raw prawns, split and opened like a butterfly OR 1 pork fillet, cut into long strips
For the marinade: 2 tbsp dark soy 1 tsp soft brown sugar1 tsp peanut butter 1 tsp sweet chilli sauce2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed (or out of a jar)200ml coconut milk from a tin½ tsp cumin 1 tsp coriander ¼ tsp ground ginger (or fresh from a jar or grated)2 tsp sesame oil or veg oil
For the satay sauce:3 heaped tbsp smooth peanut butter1 tbsp Soy sauce½ tsp chilli flakes100ml sweet chilli sauce1 tbsp fish sauce, or a pinch of salt200ml coconut milk1 tbsp light brown sugar½ tsp ground corianderJuice of 1 lime, about 2 tbsp
To garnish the satay sauce:1 tbsp roasted peanutspinch chilli flakes1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander 1/2 tsp sesame seeds
For the salad:1 lettuce – butter lettuce, or iceberg, washed and pulled apart1 small red onion, peeled and cut into 8 petalsHalf a cucumber, half peeled and thinly slicedPeanuts or sesame seeds.
Method
1. To make the marinade, mix together the soy, sugar, chilli sauce and peanut butter, then add the rest of the ingredients.
2. Add the sauce to the chicken, pork or prawns, coat and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
3. While the meat marinates, soak 16 wooden skewers in water, which makes them easier to thread and stops them burning.
4. Thread the meat or fish onto the skewers and make sure they have plenty of marinade.
5. Heat a frying pan and add a little oil. Place the skewers in the pan and cook one side until brown, for a good 2 minutes. Drizzle with a little more oil and turn, cooking again. Turn so all sides are cooked through - the prawns will cook quickly but the chicken and pork will take longer.
6. To make the satay sauce, place all of the satay sauce ingredients EXCEPT for the lime juice into a small pan.
7. Heat over a medium heat whilst stirring with a wooden spoon - the sauce will look thin
at first, then will start to thicken as it comes close to boiling point. Don’t let the sauce boil, just turn down the heat as it approaches boiling point and stir until thickened, then turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice.
8. Transfer the sauce to a serving dish and sprinkle with sesame seeds, chopped peanuts, chilli flakes and fresh coriander before serving.
9. The satays are lovely just placed in a lettuce leaf with a small amount of cucumber, red onion and some sauce, pull the leaf around the satay, pull out the wooden stick and you have a lettuce satay wrap.