Pork satay

A classic Thai dish, satay refers to small pieces of meat marinated in a mixture of soy sauce, honey, peanut butter and lemon juice, ginger and sambal oelek, then threaded on small bamboo skewers and grilled. I confess, I made some substitutions. We had no honey so I used brown sugar. I also used kalamansi juice instead of lemon juice, and bottled hot chili sauce in lieu of sambal oelek. The cooked pork satay was great! Of course, I could not make a comparison with a cooked dish that used all the traditional ingredients but, what the heck, would should I feel limited when there are available substitutes for what was lacking in my kitchen last night?

I learned a few things about making pork satay. First, allow sufficient marinating time–a minimum of two hours; overnight in the fridge is best. Second, those thick and long bamboo skewers commonly used for banana and kamote cue won’t do in making this dish. They will tear the thin slices of pork apart. Finally, don’t grill the meat for too long. The peanut butter will burn fast. Hence, it is important to keep the meat slices as thin as possible. The thinner they are, the less cooking time they will require.

Ingredients :

500 g. of pork loin
1/2 c. of warm water
2 tbsps. of peanut butter
1 tbsp. of dark brown sugar
2 tbsps. of dark soy sauce
2 tbsps. of kalamansi juice
1 tsp. of finely grated ginger
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 tsp. of hot chili sauce
12 bamboo skewers
1 tbsp. of finely chopped onion leaves for garnish

Cooking procedure :

Slice the pork loin as thinly as you can. About 1/8″ thick would be good.

Dissolve the peanut butter in the warm water. Add the soy sauce, sugar, kalamansi juice, grated ginger, chopped onion and hot chili sauce. Mix well.

Place the pork slices in a glass bowl. Pour the marinade over them. Mix well to coat every piece. Cover and marinate for at least two hours; overnight in the fridge would be best.

Soak the bamboo skewers in water for thirty minutes before use to prevent them from catching fire in the grill. Drain them well.

Thread about 3-4 pieces of pork meat per skewer. Repeat for the rest.

Grill the pork satay over live coals for about 1 to 2 minutes per side , depending on how hot your coals are. Alternatively, broil them in the oven about six inches from the heat. Pork loin does not take long to cook especially if they have been sliced thinly. Watch the grilling or broiling as pork satay can burn fast.

Pour the remaining marinade in a saucepan and boil for a few minutes until the liquid is reduced and the mixture has thickened. Serve on the side or pour over the cooked pork satay just before serving (I did the latter). Garnish the pork satay with finely chopped onion leaves before serving.