Pinda Satésaus is Heerlijk!

Call it what you wish: Pindasaus, satésaus or pinda satésaus. Either way, it's a delicious sauce that is used every so often here in the Netherlands. What it is: A paste-like peanut sauce. It's use: It's ideal on chicken or other meats, cooked saté-style. And why? In Dutch history, Indonesia was once a colony of the Netherlands called the Dutch East Indies. Many of the foods and gerechten [dishes] served in this culture were brought back to the Netherlands. Indonesian food has an influence on Dutch dishes. Being there is no specific "Dutch cuisine", aside from a few various concoctions, the Indonesian flavour puts a great twist on dining options. Even Chinese restaurants throughout the Netherlands are also Indonesian-inspired. I personally am a huge fan of the Indonesian-style of cooking and am often busying myself with the various recipes, experimenting in my kitchen. So here today I would like to share with you my recipe for making a delicious pindasaus. You can buy it in a jar or a mix, but the best I've ever tasted was homemade by a friend here in the Netherlands who is from Indonesia. I watched as she prepared this sauce in her kitchen, and here is how it's done...

Update!

I wrote this blog entry nearly 4 years ago and the linkage I had for it no longer existed, as well as my original recipe [I don't have it written down anywhere!] and I make it now by taste because I've made it so often, so my suggestion now for this recipe is as follows:


Ingredients:

350 gram jar of creamy peanut butter [I prefer Calvé pindakaas] 
3 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
½-1 teaspoon sambal ulek [red chili paste]
½-1 teaspoon lemon grass
½-1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
½-1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Water [you can also use milk or coconut milk]
Ketjap manis [you can also use soy sauce in place of ketjap manis]
If you prefer it to be a bit sweeter:
1-2 teaspoons honey or your favorite sweetener/sugar

Directions:

1. Empty the jar of peanut butter into a sauce pan and stir in the garlic, sambal ulek [if you don't like it too spicy, then I suggest you use less of the sambal ulek], lemon grass, ginger powder and lemon juice, adding the water a little bit at a time to help combine ingredients. Don't add all of the water at once. Note: if you have a food processor, combine the ingredients in this and then transfer the mixture to a sauce pan.

2. Stir the ingredients together on medium heat and add ketjap manis to taste. You might want to add only one spoonful, or you might want to add half a cup of this sweet Indonesian soy sauce.

3. Stir constantly while the mixture is heating. The oil in the peanut butter might separate from the mixture as it heats, and ff this happens, just stir the mixture together more rigorously. If the mixture thickens too much [texture should be like mayonnaise], just add a few more tablespoons of water. Remember: the secret to a good peanut sauce is that it's not too thick and not too watery.

4. Taste the mixture to see if you need to add more ketjap manis or other ingredients. If it's not sweet enough for your taste, just add a teaspoon of honey or sugar at a time. You can also use white sugar or brown sugar.

5. Remove the mixture from heat when it is warm enough to serve. Pour over stir fried chicken or pork or serve separate in a bowl so your guests can help themselves.

Serving size: Approximately 3 tablespoons per person [yields approx. 8-12 servings]
Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes

Any questions, just leave me a comment below and I'll be happy to help!