Thai Cooking Newsletter

MaeSri Peanut Sauce for Satay
Serve this ready made peanut sauce with marinated skewers of grilled chicken, pork, beef or tempeh (sate). Paired with Thai Cucumber Salad and Chicken Satay (see recipe below) this is a summertime favorite.

Learn Fruit & Vegetable Sculpting DVD
In this Fruit Carving DVD you'll find easy to follow step by step instuction on how to make beautiful fruit and vegetable carvings.
Beginning with the basics and quickly moving to more advanced techniques and pieces, this DVD is the perfect motivator for the culinary artist. Chef Ray Duey is a Certified Executive Chef through the American Culinary Federation.

Satay is marinated meat, skewered, and charcoal-grilled and served with peanut sauce. What makes this recipe for Satay marinade particularly delicious is the use of whole dried spices. Dry-roasted and ground in a mortar and pestle, the resulting flavor is tastier, fresher and bolder than ground spices. Read more about satay in our Thai cooking tips section.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb. boneless chicken breast
• 1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. whole cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3-4 shallots, peeled and sliced thin crosswise
• 1 stalk fresh lemon grass, sliced thin crosswise
• 1/4 inch piece of fresh galangal
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 20 bamboo skewers
• 2 Tbsp. cooking oil, canola or peanut

Preparation

1. Slice chicken into long thin slices, approximately 1/4" thick and 2" in length. Pat dry with paper towels.
2. Dry roast coriander seeds for a minute or two in a wok over medium heat to roast lightly, stirring often.
3. Grind the coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle or electric coffee grinder (reserved for spices).
4. Combine all the spices with the shallot, lemon grass, galangal and garlic together in a bowl.
5. Add chicken pieces to the marinade and mix well to cover meat. Allow to marinate for at least an hour or up to overnight.
6. Before cooking, soak bamboo skewers in water for at least 10 minutes, so that they will not burn.
7. Skewer 2 to 3 pieces of chicken onto each stick. Grill over a hot fire until cooked through. Baste with cooking oil after turning.

Notes: Serve with MaeSri Peanut Sauce and a simple Thai Cucumber Salad. Instead of chicken you may also use pork, beef, tempeh or tofu in this recipe.

Visit our Thai food grocery for ready-made Satay Marinades and Sauces.

Of all the fruits to be carved, watermelons are among the most challenging. The green skin offers endless possibilities for carving: either white patterns on green or green figures on a white background. It is also, like a pineapple, one of the most inviting fruits to eat.

Ingredients:

• One oblong watermelon

Preparation:

1. Mark the outline of the petals starting from the top and then carefully cut the petals taking care to avoid splitting.
2. Separate the petals from one another.
3. Separate the pulp from the skin with a knife but do not remove the pulp.
4. Decorate the rind by cutting slanted V-shaped wedges on either side of each petal.
5. Within each decorated petal cut smaller inner petal and lightly push it slightly inside at the same time as opening the outer petal.

Note: At serving time, keep a knife near the watermelon lotus so that each guest can cut and take out one inner petal (pulp only).

Watermelon carving directions and text source: The Ancient Thai Art of Vegetable Carving by Sumitra Narain; Copyright © 2003 Akapolinea, India

Shop for Thai Fruit Carving items in our online store.

Thai Cooking Classes

Check out our detailed listing for the best Thai cooking classes offered in the USA by region: East Coast, West Coast, South, Midwest and Northwest. Updated monthly, our listing provides menus, costs, times and dates of cooking classes being offered within the next few months. Also we have links to cookbooks by the teachers, interviews and the websites for these cooking classes.