Lemon grass and generic bread

I have had a craving for one of my childhood favorites, Thai beef satay (saté), for the longest time. However, it was extremely hard to find a Thai restaurant that served beef satay. Most if not all the ones I have tried only had pork and chicken. When you can not buy something the only other option is to make it yourself.

Deciding on which recipe to use was tricky since there were so many on the internet. I finally decided to call my grandma for the family recipe. I tried to search for other recipes online since the family recipe was fairly complicated. But in the end I figured if you are going to do something might as well do it right.

Gathering all the ingredients for this recipe could be a bit troublesome, but I guarantee it is worth the time. I was able to get most of the ingredients from the local super market. For the more obscure items I had to visit the Korean market in downtown. It is fun to buy weird ingredients at the market because the checkers do not know what they are ringing up. And when they do find out what item code to use they will have some interesting comment. The checker thought it was really weird for me to buy lemon grass and generic white bread. I guess she does have a point, but this is how a frugal gourmet works.

Sawadee Beef Satay
A recipe from the old family restaurant. God miss Sawadee =*(

Flank steak 1 lb
Fish sauce 1 Tbs
Palm sugar 1 -1 ½ Tbs
Salt pinch
Coconut milk 3 Tbs
Turmeric ½ Tbs
Curry powder 1/3 Tbs
Cinnamon pinch
Black pepper ½ Tbs
Garlic 4-5 medium cloves
Celery root 3 roots (optional)
Lemon grass 2 inches

1. Cut the flank stay in half along the grain. Then slice it against the grain into strips about ¼ inch thick. Since flank steaks are not very thick we want to get larger strips by slicing it at an angle.
2. Blend the garlic, celery roots and lemon grass in a food processor. Or if you are ghetto like me, chop it up into very fine bits. Add to sliced beef.
3. Combine all the other ingredient in a bowl and mix well.(Just place all of it the food processor if you are using one) Make sure you get rid of the lumps from the palm sugar.
4. Marinate for at least 1 hour before grilling. Best over night.
5. Grill or pan cook beef over medium-heat. About 2-3 minutes per side. It burns pretty easy from the coconut and sugar, so pay attention.

Getting Fancy

To make it just like the restaurant you’ll want to use some bamboo skewers. Make sure you are either cooking it on a grill or have a large enough pan before you do this.

1. Soak the skewers in water for a few hours.
2. Run the skewer through the strips of marinated beef.

Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce ½ cup
Tamarind 1 Tbs
Coconut milk 4-7 Tbs
Palm sugar to taste
Masaman paste 1 Tbs
Peanut Oil ½ Tbs(Optional)

1. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and mix. Adjust the thickness with less or additional coconut milk. Likewise adjust taste with sugar and masaman paste.
   
2. If you store the sauce in the fridge make sure to bring it to room temperature before serving. You can put it in the microwave for 15 seconds.

Egg & Rice

Lets start with a collection of my favorite recipes.

Egg Rice
Pan fried eggs over rice. A dish that my grandma used to make it for me all the time when I was a kid. A very simple dish that will always be my number one comfort food. Think of it as a very simple soy based risotto if you will. The rich and creamy egg yolks adds great body and aroma to the jasmine rice while the crispy of the egg whites gives a wonderful texture.

Ingredients
Fresh Eggs
Steamed Rice(jasmine)
Soy sauce

Though the list of ingredients is rather simple, preparing a perfect bowl of egg rice can be tricky. How well you cook the eggs will make or break the dish. What you want is for the eggs to be nice and crispy while maintaining a raw yolk.

1. Heat pan till smoking hot then add enough oil to coat bottom of the pan.
2. Add eggs and cover with lid for about 45 seconds. You should be able to see and hear the eggs splatter if your oil was hot enough.
3. Remove the lid and check the eggs. If things went well, the eggs should be nice and crispy on the edges. The egg whites should also be thoroughly cooked(white in color and not translucent)
while the yolk is still raw.
4. Quickly remove the eggs with a spatula and serve them over a bowl of hot steamed rice.
5. Drizzle with your favorite brand of soy sauce.
6. Right before eating use a spoon to break the yolks and mix it into the rice.