My mother, in whose memory this site was created, was a cookbook addict. Her philosophy in life was based upon a statement attributed to Erasmus of Rotterdam (1466-1536): When I get a little money I buy books, and if any is left I buy food and clothes. Replace “books” with “cookbooks” and you’ll get my mother.
Over the years, she had passed on several of her cookbooks to me for fear that years of living in the United States would result in me abandoning the cuisine of my original country or, worse, becoming so culinarily syncretic that I can’t tell how a dish is supposed to taste. Well, Mom is no longer with us, so she and I can’t have our once never-ending discussion on her view on culinary syncretism.
How I miss debating with Mom.Heck, I miss hearing her voice, period.
Thai cookbooks, especially old ones, are notorious for errors, typographical or otherwise, and way-off measurements. The sin of omission of key ingredients is also exuberantly committed. You really have to pay attention and exercise not only commonsense but also extreme caution. If a cracker recipe calls for a liter of coconut milk and 1/2 cup of rice flour, a red flag should go up. With that kind of ratio, you know you’re more likely going to get coconut milk goo rather than crunchy crackers. When chicken is mysteriously absent from a Thai chicken salad recipe, you know something’s rotten in Bangkok.
This is clear evidence that the writer and the proofreader have conspired against you. Please be understanding if you see me walk around looking frustrated and paranoid for chances are I have just finished reading a few Thai cookbooks. They have that effect on otherwise trusting and relaxed human beings.
That’s why Mom’s cookbooks are so precious to me. They’re full of her handwritten corrections, tweaks, comments, suggested variations, reports of people’s responses, etc. When it comes to marginal notation, my mom would have given the Masoretes a run for their shekels.
I think of these notes as Mom’s posthumous road signs which have several times saved me from potholes, deer, and boulders on the road of cooking. Sometimes, some of her “road signs” even lead to cool shortcuts which yield results that are close or identical to those achieved through a more laborious means.
A peanut sauce recipe in an old coconut milk-stained cookbook supplemented with my mom’s handwritten notes is a case in point. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the number of herbs and spices called for by several recipes for authentic Thai peanut sauce, here’s my mom’s recipe to the rescue.
All the herbs and spices are found in commercial Thai red curry paste. No need to hunt down all 20 of them. Interestingly, Mom opted granulated sugar and vinegar as handy replacements for the traditional palm sugar and tamarind pulp respectively — all with no lethal effects. Our family has enjoyed the sauce made this way for years.
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Easy Thai Peanut Sauce Recipe: How to Make My Mom's Thai Satay Sauce
A word about this recipe: If you're looking for a Chinese-style peanut sauce that goes over noodles or Vietnamese-style peanut sauce that is served with fresh spring rolls, this is not it. You can use this sauce in that way, if desired. But this is a Thai satay sauce which is on the sweet side, has a flavor that is found in Thai curry (but is not supposed to be hot), and is served as a dipping sauce for Thai-style satay. If you're looking for the kind of peanut sauce that contains Chinese ingredients such as sesame oil, chili sauce, or hoisin sauce, this is not it. Thai-style satay sauce does not contain any of those ingredients and is not seasoned in the same way. Also, this recipe makes a huge amount. If you've been to Thailand, you'll know satay sauce is served in small amounts on a tiny little plate alongside the satay. I would say this amount of sauce is enough for 60-70 Thai-sized grilled satay which should serve more than 10 people as an appetizer.)
Author: shesimmers.com
Recipe type: Condiment
Cuisine: Thai
Serves: 3.5 cups
Ingredients
- One 13.5-ounce can of full-fat, unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 ounces (approximately ¼ cup) of Thai red (mom’s preference and mine too) or Massaman curry paste (milder but flavorful)
- ¾ cup unsweetened (natural) creamy peanut butter (Do not use regular peanut butter or anything with added emulsifiers. It must be the type of natural peanut butter that comes with natural peanut oil on top and no sugar added. I often use Smucker's.)
- ½ tablespoon salt
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar or white vinegar (Do not use white wine, red wine, balsamic, or anything else — not even rice vinegar)
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Put everything into a medium heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat, whisking constantly.
- Let the mixture simmer for 3-5 minutes over low heat; be careful not to let the mixture scorch at the bottom of the pot.
- Take the pot off the heat, let the sauce cool down to room temperature (or slightly warmer), and serve the sauce with satay or fried tofu.
Notes
This peanut sauce keeps in a glass container in the refrigerator for weeks. Refrigerated sauce will thicken up considerably. All you have to do is thin it out with a little bit of water to desired consistency, reheat, and serve. The sauce also freezes beautifully. I prefer Maesri red curry paste. But you can also use Mae Ploy red curry paste (it's hotter). A lot of people like to use massaman curry paste, and you can do that too. Originally, Mom used roasted peanuts, ground up in a mortar and pestle. For those who feel the use of natural peanut butter in this recipe is blasphemous, please feel free to go that route. But then, what is unsweetened, natural peanut butter if not roasted peanuts ground up into a paste? For those living in areas of the world where commercial natural peanut butter is not available, please grind up 12 ounces of roasted peanuts using whatever means most convenient for you. Then use the peanut paste in the same manner as peanut butter as directed.
