Before having children I was a lot more spontaneous in the kitchen. Fast forward 2 and a half years and regular meal planning gives me serious thrills! Not to mention the practical advantages of saving both time, and money, ah yes this part actually makes me feel ever so slightly smug.
I do have some pretty strong opinions around cooking for children though, and one of those is that I try to cook meals that are suitable for both adults and the children. This may mean making slight changes to appeal to the different age groups, but adding chilli on the side for the adults or separating the pasta from the sauce for the children isn’t a drama.
One hack I routinely use is having some great sauces and dressings made in advance so that during ‘The Witching Hour’ the prep is kept to a minimum but you are still rewarded with a delicious, flavour packed, meal that will hopefully pass the taste test by both young and old.
This Satay Sauce is a favourite in our house and keeps for approximately a week, if it lasts that long! I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.
Coconut Satay Sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 teaspoon garlic – crushed
1 onion – finely chopped
1 cup peanut butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 1/2 cups coconut cream
fish sauce to season
Method
1. Heat oil in a saucepan on a medium heat and gently sauté the onion until translucent.
2. Add garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes.
3. Stir in the peanut butter, lemon juice, soy sauce & sugar.
4. Add coconut cream and bring to the boil. Add a dash or 2 of fish sauce, taste & adjust seasoning if needed.
5. Take off the heat and use straight away, or place in an airtight container and when cool, store in the fridge.
I have served the Coconut Satay Sauce here with a Gado Gado inspired selection of chicken skewers, carrot, red cabbage, boiled egg, coriander, potato, fried shallots, a lemon wedge and prawn crackers. Oh and some chilli sauce on the table for those of us who want to spice it up.
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