Peanut satay sauce & fried rice crackers

Who’s up for a little culinary escapism? As you know by now, we love an island! And Bali sits up there as one of our favourites. I was just 23 when I first took a local bus from Denpasar, through lush jungles and layers of paddy fields to the northern shores with their volcanic black sands. On entering the bungalows I was staying at, a young girl was crouching down and crushing the toasted peanuts in a large granite mortar, preparing them for that night’s peanut satay sauce that would accompany a dinner of Gado Gado. Ever since that day, I’ve found it hard to make satay with jars of peanut butter! Here's the real deal recipe! (Oh, and there’s another story about being offered a Trip to the Moon, but let’s save that for another day).

Written by Neil Roake

SERVES 6
2T neutral oil
250g peanuts
2 cloves garlic, sliced
10 red chillies
1T tamarind, with seeds
1T jaggery (palm sugar)
2t Salt
1T lime juice
1 cup water (divided throughout the recipe)

TO GARNISH
Red chilli slices
2t soy sauce
1t Fried Onions

FRIED RICE CRACKERS
6 sheets rice paper, cut into 4’s with kitchen scissors
½ cup neutral oil
Salt to taste

Toast the nuts: Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is slightly warm, add the peanuts. Roast the peanuts over a medium flame until they turn dark brown and become aromatic (takes about 15-20 minutes). Keep an eye on them, stirring continuously to avoid burning. Note: the peanuts may split open and lose some skin - no biggie. Once delicious and brown, remove from the heat, set aside and allow to cool.

Let’s get aromatic: In the same pan on low heat, sauté the sliced garlic for 2 minutes until slightly brown (stirring continuously to avoid burning). Set aside.

Get spicy: Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil. Add the chillies and boil them until soft (roughly 10 minutes). Drain the water using a colander and set the chillies aside.

In a small bowl of warm water (¼ cup), dissolve the tamarind and jaggery (use a spoon or your fingers to assist the process). Set aside for 5 minutes and strain using a fine sieve (saving the liquid for later use).

In a blender or Nutribullet, blend the soaked and drained chillies and the sautéed garlic together with 2T of water.

Crush the peanuts in a mortar and pestle. Add to the Nutribullet with the chilli/garlic paste. Add the tamarind/jaggery liquid, salt, Ketjap Manis, lime juice, and ½ cup water and pulse-blend until fairly smooth.

Adjust the consistency by adding a dash of warm water (if you want it thinner/runnier).

Finally, top it off with finely sliced red chillies, store-bought fried onions and some more Ketjap Manis (sweet soy sauce).

Fry the crackers: Heat the oil in a saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add one piece of rice paper to test. If it puffs immediately, the oil is ready. Add 2-3 pieces into the oil at a time (slide them in gently to avoid splattering). Remove from the oil as soon as they puff up (use a slotted spoon) and place onto a kitchen towel-lined plate. Sprinkle with salt immediately. Repeat until all rice paper is fried. Serve immediately with the satay sauce.

Crispy, fried and salty meets creamy, spicy and sweet. Make yourself a plate before serving or risk losing out – they’ll be gone in a flash.