Chicken or Beef Satay

Prep time: 15 min active/2 hours inactive • Cook time: 6 min • Yield: 20 to 30 skewers

Ingredients

Marinade

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• ¼ cup fresh lime juice
• 2 stalks fresh lemongrass, thinly sliced, white part only
• 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
• 2 teaspoons Thai red curry (available in large grocery stores in the Asian food section)
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves, minced
• ½ teaspoon chili flakes
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 to 1 ½ pounds boneless chicken thighs or breasts, or skirt or flank steak

Nutty Dipping Sauce

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• ½ cup almond butter or sunflower seed butter
• 1 tablespoon Thai red curry
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 to 2 teaspoons chili sauce, i.e. Siracha
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Accompaniments (optional)

• Carrot sticks
• Celery sticks
• Jicama sticks
• Scallions

Directions

1. Mix all marinade ingredients together in a large bowl or gallon sealable plastic bag. ­­­­
2. Slice meat against the grain into thin strips about 1 to 1 ½-inch wide. Place meat into marinade and refrigerate for 2 to 8 hours. Marinate beef 8 hours or more if possible. Overnight is fine for beef, but not recommended for chicken.
3. Soak bamboo skewers for 15-20 minutes in water to prevent them from burning, and skewer meat. Cook at medium-high heat on the grill, under the broiler, or in a grill pan for 3 to 4 minutes per side or until cooked through.
4. To make the dipping sauce, combine coconut milk, nut butter, Thai red curry, and coconut sugar in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat stirring constantly. Continue to simmer for about 5 minutes until sauce starts to thicken. Add fish sauce, chili sauce, and lime juice. Serve with satay and cut vegetables.

Notes: I like to put out veggies with the satay because the dipping sauce is as good on vegetables as it is on meat.

This marinade is excellent! Use it for chicken, beef, pork, or stirfrys, and serve cauliflower rice as a side. I also used it on roasted root vegetables - sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots, and rutabaga!