Malaysian Satay Sauce -
Ingredients List:
- 1 cup Peanuts
- 1 stalk Lemongrass
- 4 Shallots
- A few cloves Garlic
- 1 inch Galangal
- Dried Thai Chilis to taste
- Oil for Sauteing
- 1 cup Water plus some to taste
- (optional) Peanut Butter to taste
- 1-1.5 Tb Tamarind Paste / Brown/Palm Sugar to taste
Rough chop a stalk of lemongrass, four shallots, a few garlic cloves, an inch of galangal, and Thai chilis to taste, dried are best (I would use 4-5, you can use as many as you want if you want it SPICY). Blend this all together into a paste.
Saute the spice paste until fragrant, then go a bit further to brown a little bit. Add in the peanuts and a cup or so of water to loosen things up. Should my ratios be slightly not to my liking, I'll also sometimes adjust with crunchy peanut butter. Stir well and bring to a boil, then simmer down to the point that the oil starts separating from the rest of the sauce. Add a heaping tablespoon of tamarind paste and/or brown/palm sugar to taste. You can thin it out with water or cook it a little longer, but make sure to stir it so it doesn't stick.
Serve with skewered grilled meats, fresh vegetables, and/or rice.
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Nasi Impit (Compressed Rice, not pictured) -
Get two containers such that one fits snugly within the other. I liked using square ceramic casserole dishes, but tupperware can do the trick.
Cook off enough steamed rice to make a 1 inch layer in the bottom of your container. I typically think of rice as being a 3-4 oz dry per person item. When cooking the rice, you can use a tiny bit extra water and a tiny bit extra time. You want it to be a bit sticky. Another trick is to fluff it in the middle of cooking it. Jasmine rice is typical, but most can work.
When the rice is cooked, pack it into the container as tightly as you can, cover it, then keep the pressure applied by stacking on the other container and putting something heavy on it. Let it compact in the fridge (or on your countertop if your weather isn't too hot) for at least 2 hours cold or 4-5 hours warm.
Using a sharp and clean knife, slice the rice into large bite-sized pieces (typically cubes). Clean the knife with a damp towel between slices. You may individually wrap the pieces and store them in the fridge if you don't expect to eat them immediately.
These go well with satay sauce and are typically served cold with a warm bowl of the sauce.