Chicken or Tofu Satay Loaded Fries
This was our Saturday night supper, delicious & not nearly as 'naughty' as it might sound...
This is not an issue of Weekend Wonders; One Meal, Endless Flavour but it is formatted like the weekly paid publication, in the hope that it might entice some of you free subscribers over to the £4 a month or £40 a year subscription!
I am committed to making the work I share on here as accessible as possible and I will always produce most of my content in front of a paywall (meaning free) but if you enjoy what I do and would like to support me in doing more of it (via paid subscriptions) then that would be much appreciated.
Equally, all are welcome here - please forgive the occasional necessary sales pitch. Now, on with the food!
This recipe features both the Peanut (Satay) Sauce & Chilli Oil that have been part of my recipe shares over on Instagram (click the live links to view the original posts). In fact I made an error in my Peanut Sauce share on social media, missing out 2 very important ingredients - the garlic granules & onion powder - and because I boosted the post I am unable to edit it. One of many details I will be sharing in my up coming summary of all I have learnt in my recent deep dive on social media!
One of the things I absolutely love about making up & stocking up on Condiments is how easy it makes putting together seriously tasty food - this dish is a case in point.
If you prefer your recipes followed off paper print outs I always include a PDF in Weekend Wonders - scroll down to the end of the following 4 recipes to find it to download.
Wishing you a grand week and happy times cooking,
Chloe x
Make the Peanut Sauce & Chilli Oil - alternatively, buy some pre made
Marinade the chicken or tofu
Pre heat the oven to 200c (180c fan)
Put the fries in the oven
Griddle/fry the chicken or tofu in batches
Chop the salad vegetables while everything else is cooking
Satay Sauce
Makes about 250g
Ingredients
100g roasted salted peanuts
2 tbsps olive or coconut or groundnut oil
75g finely chopped shallots
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 whole chilli chopped, add more if you like!
1 tbsp soya sauce
Juice of half a lime
1 tbsp ground black pepper
1 tsp miso paste - you can use shrimp paste if you prefer
250ml water
Equipment
Chopping board & sharp knife
Food processor or blender
Medium sized heavy bottomed saucepan
Wooden spoon
Heat the oil in the pan and once hot add the shallots. After a minute or 2 add the chopped garlic, stir well and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes until the mixture is beginning to turn golden brown.
While the shallots & garlic are cooking, grind the peanuts to a coarse powder - depending on the size of your processor you may want to do this in batches. Be careful not to make butter - you want the peanuts ground but still dry and powdery rather than a smooth paste.
Add the miso or shrimp paste to the onion mixture, stir well and cook for another 1 minute before adding the chilli, sugar, black pepper & water.
Add the ground peanuts to the pan, turn up the heat & bring the sauce to a steady simmer, lower the heat and cook for 20 minutes, until much of the water has evaporated & the sauce has thickened.
Remove from the heat. The sauce is best served at room temperature. Store any left overs in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Chilli Oil
Makes about 500g
Ingredients
500ml of peanut or other mildly flavoured oil
2 bay leaves
5 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbsps Szechuan peppercorns
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp Timur peppercorns (add more of the others if you can’t get these)
4 black cardamom pods
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic granules
1 cup chilli flakes
1/2 cup Korean chilli flakes (like used to make kimchi)
1 tbsp salt
Equipment
Large heavy bottomed saucepan
Heatproof bowl
Sieve
Wooden spoon
Pour the oil into the saucepan - make sure you are using a pan large enough for there to be a good 4cm between the oil and the lip of the pan. Bring it up to 110-120c - if you don’t have a thermometer you want the oil to be very gently bubbling, not smoking. The ingredients will make the oil bubble a little more when you put them in but you don’t want the oil so hot that they spit & splutter.
Carefully put all the ingredients EXCEPT the chilli oil into the hot oil, stir & cook at a steady temperature of 110-120c for an hour
While the oil & aromatics are steeping, put the chilli into the heat proof bowl and mix together well with the salt. Gently pour the oil through the sieve over the chilli & stir well together.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 6 months - if it lasts that long!
Chicken or Tofu Satay
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 chicken breasts
1 packet of firm tofu
50g shallot, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
3 tbsps soya sauce
3 tbsps fish sauce - there are some really good vegan versions available in most supermarkets
Salt & pepper
Oil for frying
Equipment
Chopping board & sharp knife
Mixing bowl
Griddle or frying pan
Chicken - slice the breasts into 2 cm wide strips.
Tofu - dice into 3cm cubes.
Mix all the other ingredients together in the mixing bowl (apart from the oil which is for cooking) and leave to marinade at room temperature for up to an hour or for longer in the fridge - you can leave them overnight.
Heat a little oil in your griddle or frying pan and once hot add the chicken or tofu & fry until lightly coloured & crisp - you may want to do this in batches, you want the chicken or tofu to lie in one layer in the pan without being too crowded.
Once cooked pop on a plate & cover with foil while you load up your fries.
Fries - Cook according to packet instructions
Chopped Salad
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 crisp lettuce, cut into 1 cm strips
Half a cucumber cut into thin batons about 3 cm long
1 red bell pepper cut as the cucumber
Small bunch of fresh coriander, leaves & stalks, finely chopped
A few mint leaves, finely chopped
Salt & Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
The juice of a lime or half a lemon
Equipment
Mixing bowl
Serving spoons
Put all the salad vegetables into the bowl with the chopped herbs. Add a couple of spoons of olive oil & the lime or lemon juice, stir well.
Assembly
Serve in individual portions.
Put the fries into a bowl, top with the salad, top that with the chicken or tofu & finish with a generous helping of satay sauce & chilli oil to taste.
The salad can be made with pretty much anything and is a really good opportunity to clear out the fridge - carrots, celery, fennel, radish, tomatoes, chicory….
Swap out the chicken for beef or the tofu for vegetables.
Swap out the fries for rice noodles or stuff the satay & salad into a baguette to make a rather superior sandwich.