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Malaysian Satay Sauce

Malaysian Satay Sauce is an incredibly flavorful spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay. 

Check out my Malaysian Satay recipes here:

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.
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Satay has been one of my favorite foods ever since I can remember. I had shared my Malaysian Chicken Satay and Chicken Satay Burger recipes here on Wok & Skillet before and as promised, here is my recipe for Malaysian Satay Sauce.

Confession: When I’ve finished eating my Satay, I would eat just the sauce with a spoon then lick the bowl clean.

Today’s technology makes this sauce a snap to put together. What had to be ground, crushed or pounded using a Mortar and Pestle can now be done using a Magic Bullet Blender or a food processor in a fraction of the time.

This recipe yields about 1 cup of sauce. I like my sauce to be fairly thick but some may prefer it a bit more runny. If that’s the case, simply add a little more water till you get the consistency you want. If you’re making Chicken Satay Burger, I recommend keeping the sauce really thick so that it does not get your burger buns all soggy.

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First, soak 1 or 2 dried red chilies in a small bowl of warm water. Use only 1 chili if you prefer a milder sauce; two if you don’t mind the spice. I LOVE the spice. The first time I attempted this recipe, I went with 6 chilies, plus one fresh red chili. Yeah…please don’t do that. I would NOT recommend that at all. 2 is perfect.

Next, soak 1 tablespoon of tamarind pulp in about 4 tablespoons of water. After it has soaked a few minutes, use your fingers to gently press the pulp to extract the juice from the tamarind.

Grind 1/2 a cup of unsalted dry roasted peanuts for just a few seconds using a food processor. You don’t want the peanut powder to be too fine; chunky is okay. Set the ground peanuts aside.

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.

Next, cut off about 1 cm from the root, then finely slice only the white-ish pale portion of 3 lemongrass stalks.

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.

Put the lemongrass slices in a food processor or Magic Bullet blender. Add the red chili (or chilies), 3 garlic cloves, 4 small shallots,  2 teaspoons of ground cumin and 1 tablespoon of ground coriander.

Pour the tamarind juice into the blender, using your fingers as a sieve to catch the pulp. Add 1/4 cup of water in to the blender, then blend until all of the ingredients are pureed.

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.

Heat up 1/4 cup of cooking oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Pour the puree into the wok and stir-fry until the oil starts to separate from all of the other ingredients and rise to the top. Stir constantly so the sauce does not burn. This should take about 2 – 3 minutes.

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.

Toss in the ground peanuts, 1 cup of water, 1 teaspoon of salt and 3 tablespoons of brown sugar.

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.

Stir till well combined. Let the sauce simmer for a minute in the wok before transferring it into a bowl.

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.

Serve with your favorite satay or with my Chicken Satay Burger.

A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.

Malaysian Satay Sauce

Charmaine Ferrara
Malaysian Satay Sauce is an incredibly flavorful spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Cuisine Malaysian
Servings 1 .5 cups

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions
 

  • Soak the dried red chili (or chilies) in a small bowl of warm water.
  • Soak the tamarind in about 4 tablespoons of water. After a few, gently press the tamarind pulp with your fingers to release the tamarind juice.
  • Grind the peanuts in a food processor or Magic Blender for a few seconds. Set aside.
  • Cut off about 1cm from the lemongrass roots, then slice only the pale portion of the lemongrass.
  • Put the sliced lemongrass, garlic, shallots, cumin and coriander into the blender.
  • Add the tamarind juice, using your fingers as a sieve to catch the pulp.
  • Add 1/4 cup of water into the blender or food processor, then blend until all of the ingredients are pureed.
  • Heat cooking oil over medium high heat.”Stir-fry” the sauce puree until the oil starts to rise to the top.
  • Add the ground peanuts, 1 cup of water, salt and brown sugar.
  • Stir till well combined. Allow the sauce to simmer for a minute before serving.
  • Serve with your favorite satay.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 155kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gSodium: 430mgFiber: 1gSugar: 10g
Keyword malaysian satay sauce
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A spicy peanut sauce that pairs with Malaysian style satay.
Recipe Rating




Edwin

Saturday 16th of June 2018

Arf, forgot to get lemon grass cumin and tumeric so I can hit Chinatown again on Monday. Shopping cart was already overflowing.

Char

Sunday 17th of June 2018

Happy shopping, Edwin! haha . :)

missfoodfairy

Thursday 13th of October 2016

WOW! This is a traditional Malaysian satay sauce? I'm pinning for when I make chicken skewers :) Sounds absolutely amazing

Char

Thursday 13th of October 2016

Thanks, @missfoodfairy. Yes, this is authentic traditional Malaysian Satay Sauce :) Let me know what you think when you try it!