Chicken Satay with Peanut sauce

It was daddy's birthday last week.We planned a grilling menu for the birthday celebration lunch.We decided to grill in the park since the weather was nice and sunny.Take advantage of the short lived summer months and it would be a shame not to be outdoors on a Sunday .We decided to grill chicken 2 ways -Thai Chicken satay with a peanut sauce,tandoori chicken with a yogurt and mint chutney.Mommy being a diehard shrimp enthusiast,shrimps had to be a part of the menu,so we did shrimps in a chipotle marinde.This turned out to be the most hassle free entertaining that we had done.The only dampner was the weather, thunderstorms and showers in the Sunday weather forcast....but worry not when you have a patio and disposable charcoal grills on sale at Wal Mart :-)

Thai Chicken Satay.
We did about 10 chicken thighs.

For the marinade

Lemongrass-1 stick

Shallots-2

Garlic-3 big cloves

Ginger-1 inch piece

Tumeric-1/2 teaspoon.(If you use fresh you can use about an inch of the root)

Chillies-2.(We used the Thai Red chilli)

Brown sugar-3 tablespoons

Soy sauce-2 tablespoons

Fish sauce-3 tablespoons

Cumin powder-2 teaspoons

Corriander powder-2 teaspoons

Oil-4 tablespoons

The process cannot be any simpler.You just need a blender and blend in all the marination ingredients.Taste to check the marinade and adjust for your taste.If you want more heat add in more chillies or mix some red chilli powder.Check for salt,the fish sauce has salt but we added white salt white adjusting the marinade,I did not want addinitional fish sauce flavor in the marinade.If you like a stronger fish sauce flavor you can add more fish sauce for saltiness.If you like it sweeter help yourself to more brown sugar.

I cut the chicken pieces in long thin strips and put them in the marinade.Keep it in the refridgerator.2 hrs should be good to get all the flavors in.We did it the evening before.
Skew the chicken pieces on a wooden skewer and place them on your grill.We grilled ours on a charcoal grill.The chicken should be done in about 15 mins.Do both the sides till they get the beautiful char.

Enjoy the satay chicken with a peanut sauce.

Ingredients for the peanut sauce is almost the same as for the marinade except for the addition of peanuts,coconut milk and tamarind pulp

Peanuts-1 cup roasted and ground peanut.

Shallots-2 table spoons finely chopped.

Lemongrass-1/2 a stick ground to a paste

Brown sugar-1 tablespoon

Thai red chilli- 2

Fish sauce -2 tablespoons

Soy sauce-2 tablespoons

Red chilli sauce-1 teaspoon

Garlic-2 cloves

Sesame oil-2 tablespoons

Tamarind pulp-2 tablespoons

Coconut Milk-1 cup

In a pan heat the sesame oil and fry the shallots till they change colour.Add the ground peanuts, the lemon grass and red chilli paste.(I blended them together with some water).Add the rest of the ingredients and then stir in the tamarind pulp.You can add some water now and watch all the ingredients come together to form a sauce.Check the taste and add salt or more sugar or some chilli sauce according to your liking.After a minute I added the coconut milk.Once the sauce reached the desired consistency take it off the flame.