Pork satay
6
Pork satay. Photo, Erin Kunkel.
Leela Punyaratabandhu's new cookbook, Simple Thai Food, means readers can easily recreate Thai dishes at home. (Try her pork satay, you'll love it!)
Ingredients
454 g boneless pork shoulder, about 1 lb
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp grated packed palm sugar or light brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup fresh pineapple juice, or freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup water
2 slices soft white sandwich bread, about 1-in. thick (optional)
Instructions
SLICE the pork into strips about 3 inches long, 3⁄4 to 1 inch wide, and 1⁄4 inch thick. In a bowl, combine the pork, turmeric, coriander, cumin, sugar, 1⁄2 cup of the coconut milk, and the pineapple juice and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.
WHILE the pork is marinating, soak 24 bamboo skewers in water to cover for at least 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.
TO grill the satay, prepare a medium fire in a charcoal or gas grill. If using charcoal, allow the charcoal to develop a gray ash before you start grilling. Oil the grate with vegetable oil. (Alternatively, heat a well-oiled stove-top grill pan over medium heat until hot or preheat the broiler and oil a broiler pan.)
WHILE the grill is heating, remove the pork from the marinade and the skewers from the water. Thread 2 strips of pork onto each skewer, filling each skewer about three- fourths full and leaving the bottom one-fourth empty to use as a handle. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1⁄2 cup coconut milk and the water to use for basting. place the bowl and a small basting brush near the grill.
WORKING in batches if necessary to accommodate all of the skewers, arrange the skewers on the grill grate directly over the fire and grill, brushing the skewers lightly with the coconut milk mixture and turning them once until the pork is cooked through, about 5 to 8 minutes. (If using a stove-top grill pan or the broiler, cook the skewers the same way using roughly the same timing.) Grill the bread slices, turning once, just until toasted on the outside but still soft on the inside.
CUT the toasted bread into bite-size pieces. Arrange the skewers on a platter with the bread alongside. Accompany with the cucumber relish and/or satay sauce. (The cucumber relish would be enjoyed as a palate cleanser, similar to the pickled ginger served on the side of your sushi.)
Chatelaine celebrates, inspires, informs and empowers. We know that Canadian women contain multitudes, and we cover all of the issues—big and small—that matter to them, from climate change to caregiving, Canadian fashion and what to cook now.
