Satay Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

• 200 g crunchy peanut butter
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• juice of 2 limes
• 25 g palm sugar or brown sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 15 g ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp sambal oelek
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Fry the aromatics

   Cook the garlic, ginger and sambal in the oil for a minute until fragrant. Raw grated garlic in a peanut sauce stays harsh and dominates everything else.

   1 min

2. Melt the peanut butter in

   Add the peanut butter, coconut milk, soy and sugar and stir over a low heat until smooth. It will look split and grainy at first and comes together as it warms — keep the heat low or the peanut oil separates for good.

3. Thin it to the job

   Add hot water a spoonful at a time. For dipping skewers it should coat a spoon thickly; for dressing noodles, make it noticeably thinner than looks right, since it sets as it cools.

4. Balance at the end

   Take it off the heat and stir in the lime juice, then taste. It should be salty, sweet, sour and hot in roughly that order. Lime added while it is simmering loses its edge.