Oven Baked Chicken and Tofu Satay with Fruity Peanut Sauce

Personally i like satay but due to the traditional way of preparing it (grilled or barbequed over charcoal fire) i frequently stay away from it. i often find it rather oily for my liking for they often baste the satay with oil using a lemon grass or brush , also i'm pretty picky on how they serve it, where most of the satay sellers included a piece of "fat" together with the lean meat on the skewer.

So due to all that , i've decided to make my own version of satay with just lean meat and also oven bake it to reduce the amount of oil used. Since i'm sharing this new adventure of mine with a friend and her family, i prepared both the chicken and tofu satay for my friend's a vegan.

Ingredients

CHICKEN SATAY

* 3 pcs breast meat

* 6 tsp cumin powder

* 6 tsp coriander powder

* 3 tsp turmeric powder

* 3 stalks lemon grass (pound)

* 3 tbsp+ olive oil

* 6 tbsp brown sugar

Method:

1) Remove the skin from the chicken breast meat if any and cut it into strips or cube.

2) Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl thoroughly and then add the chicken strips to marinate. Its best to marinate it overnight.

3) Skewer the strips when you're ready to bake it at a preheated oven of 210 degree C for bout 15-20mins on each side.

4) Serve with some fresh onions and cucumber.

Note:

Using fresh turmeric to marinate the chicken strips will give it a more fragrant aroma as compared to the powder form.

The longer you bake , the less juicy is your chicken strips, therefore dont overbake it for you'll end up with a dry chicken strips.

FRUITY PEANUT SAUCE

* 300gm roasted peanuts

* 200ml coconut milk

* 1 cup tamarind juice

* sugar and salt to taste

* water

Spice Paste

* 3 tbsp chilli paste

* 10 shallots

* 8 cloves garlic

* 2 stalks lemongrass

* 5cm fresh turmeric (optional)

* 6cms ginger

* 4cm galangal

* 3 tsp cumin

* 2 tsp shrimp paste powder (optional)

* 6 candelnuts

* 1/2 Small pineapple (roughly blend)

Method:

1) Blend or pound the spice paste ingredients.

2) Heat some oil in the non-stick and add in the spice paste and stir fry until its aromatic.

3) Add the tamarind juice and stir it for a little while before adding ground nuts.

4) Keep stirring until its thoroughly mixed and add in the coconut milk.

5) Let it simmer and add in the roughly blended pineapple.

6) Add in more water if you like the sauce to be more watery.
7) Season with salt and sugar to taste.

Note:

I bought the readily available coarsely chopped roasted peanuts to save time. For those who can't find that , you'll need to dry fry the ground nuts until its aromatic, cool, remove the skin and pound it.

I also added blended pineapple juice, a few pieces of pineapple with some water. I used pineapple for the peanut sauce to give it a different touch as compared to the normal peanut sauce the satay sellers served. This is a remake of the peanut sauce i've tasted when i was down south.

I waited until the gravy has cooled down and poured 3/4 of the thick peanut sauce into the blender and blend it until its of a smooth and creamy consistency. I poured it back to the non-stick and stir under low heat and add more pineapple juice or tamarind juice until i achieve the consistency i like.

TOFU SATAY

* 3 pcs beancurd

Spice Paste

* 1 tsp cumin powder

* 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

* 8 shallots

* 1 tsp coriander powder

* 1 inch fresh turmeric

* 1 tsp sugar

* 1 stalk lemongrass

* 2 tbsp roasted peanuts

* 1 tbsp olive oil

* Salt to taste

Method:

1) Cubed the tofu to bite size or any size you fancy. Blend or pound all the spice paste ingredients.

2) Baste/coat the cubed beancurd with the spice paste and let it marinate overnight.

3) Skewer the beancurd when you're ready to bake.

4) Bake in a preheated oven of 210 degree C for bout 10mins on each side.

5) Serve with the fruity peanut sauce and some onions and cucumber.

Note:

If you like it to be spicy, add some chilli paste to the spice paste.

Handle the beancurd as gentle as possible when you coat it with the spice paste for you dont want to destroy it before you're able to eat it :). The spice paste will be of a rather thick consistency.

Pineapple & Prawns Fried Rice

Despite me being a pineapple lover, i'm pretty picky and will only devour those that are sweet and juicy. Too bad for me the pineapple i bought earlier isnt that juicy and sweet so instead of whipping up the same thing again (Prawns with Pineapple in Sweet Sour Sauce) i cooked it together with the left over rice from the night before.

INGREDIENTS
* rice
* finely chopped garlic
* sliced onions
* shredded carrots
* chopped coriander
* prawns (shelled & deveined)
* pinapples (cubes)
* light soy sauce
* egg
* salt
* pepper
* brown sugar

Method
1) Saute the garlic and onions
2) Add the shredded carrots and pineapples
3) Next, add the prawns. I seasoned the prawns with salt and pepper 30mins ahead.
4) Add the rice and season with light soy sauce.
5) Make a well in the middle and break the egg into in and add in pepper and light soy sauce and stir till its cooked and fold the rice over it
6) Salt and sugar to taste
7) Add the chopped coriander before you serve.

Leftover rice from the night before is ideal for fried rice. The freshly cooked rice will somewhat make the fried rice rather soggy. I'm not sure bout others but i know i dont fancy soggy fried rice. If there's no leftover then cook the rice for fried rice with a lil less water than the usual, that should do the tricks

Prawns with Pineapples in Sweet Sour Sauce

I'm a citrus person. I love anythin citrusy. I'm constantly thinking of how do i infuse citrusy fruits into my food. Today i decided i should add in some pineapples to my food. I know that i can use it anytime in my salad but today isnt so much of a salad day but more of a somethin under the water - prawns!

Ingredients:

Prawns
* shelled and deveined 
* marinate with salt and pepper ( i used freshly ground black pepper)

Method:
1) Heat butter over low heat and saute prawns until it turns pink
2) Dish out and set aside

Sauce
* finely chopped onions
* finely chopped garlic
* sliced ginger
* tomato sauce
* chilli sauce
* water
* salt and sugar to taste
* cubed fresh pineapples
* sprigs of coriander for garnishing

Method:
1) Heat butter and saute the chopped garlic, ginger and onions.
2) Add in tomato and chilli sauce
3) Add in a little bit of water and let it simmer
4) Next, add in the pineapples
5) Let it simmer for a lil while more before adding the prawns
6) You can toss in some chopped coriander and spring onions, otherwise use it for garnishing.

It would be superb if you serve this dish while its hot with a plate/bowl of steamed white rice. This particular dish definitely got my bro goin for second serving of rice despite him wanting to cut down on food portion! Perhaps the next time around, i can add in some chopped bird eye's chilli to give this dish the spicy kick!