Satay with Protein Peanut Sauce

Quick to make, high protein and delicious

This marinade works well with paneer and tofu too. Peanut sauce is enriched with protein powder

Satay is an Indonesian dish where marinaded meat/ paneer/ tofu is simply skewered & grilled. Protein heaven! It is quick to make (under 15 mins) & very easy. Not much effort is required to make a delicious healthy high protein, low carb meal. (Much better than eating poached bland chicken or plain tofu which can become dull!). I sometimes purposely make extra so that I can pop the leftovers with some salad to take for packed lunch the following day!

What is more, you can marinade meat, seafood, tofu or paneer & so cater for all sorts of diets & palates; paleo, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarians. (I have used King prawns & steak in the pictures).

To add even more protein to this dish I have added protein powder to the accompanying peanut sauce. Pulsin’ soya protein, hemp & pea protein powders work well.

Satay peanut sauce with added protein-simple to make and tasty!

Serves: 2 (makes 6 skewers)

Preparation time: 15 mins if manually chopping, 8 mins if using a blender or food processor

Marinading time: 1hr at least (I sometimes marinade overnight)

Cooking time: about 6-8 mins

Ingredients:

Protein source:

225g sirloin steak, sliced into long strips about 2cm thick

0r 225g chicken/ turkey breast sliced into strips about 2cm thick

or 225g King prawns

225g firm tofu or paneer

Marinade:

2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed & finely chopped

15g fresh root ginger, finely chopped

2 plump garlic cloves, peeled & crushed

1 red chilli, deseeded if you like it less hot, finely chopped

1.5 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1/2 tsp honey

3 tsbp tamari or soy sauce (if non-vegetarian. vegan you can use 2 tbsp fish sauce & 1 tbsp of tamari/ soya sauce)

1 tbsp rapeseed oil or olive oil

Peanut satay sauce:

100g sugar-free smooth peanut butter

140ml coconut milk

3/4 tbsp tamari or soya sauce

2 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1 1/2 tbsp protein powder (Pulsin’ soya , hemp & pea derived protein powder work well).

2 slices of chilli, lime wedges & fresh coriander to garnish

Method:

If you are using wooden skewers, soak them for about 20-30 mins in cold water so that they do not burn when you cook the satay.

Make the marinade. Finely chop the lemon grass, root ginger, chillies & mix with crushed garlic in a bowl. Add the ground cumin, coriander, tumeric, honey, lime juice, tamari/ soya sauce/ fish sauce, rapeseed or olive oil. Alternatively, you can blitz this all in a food processor to form a paste.

Prepare the protein. If using paneer of tofu: dice into 1.5cm cubes. These have to be sturdy enough to be threaded onto the skewers. If using steak or poultry: slice into long strips of about 2cm thick, so these can be threaded onto skewers & will cook evenly.

Now coat the protein source with the satay marinade for at least 1 hour in the fridge.

To make the satay protein-enriched peanut sauce:

Put the peanut butter, coconut milk, chilli flakes, tamari or soya sauce, lime juice & protein powder of choice into a small saucepan & on a low heat melt the peanut butter & mix all the ingredients together to form a thick sauce. Pour into a bowl & decorate with 2 slices of fresh red chilli.

Thread the marinaded tofu/ paneer/ meat/ poultry/ prawns onto the skewers. These can now be grilled or cooked on a griddle pan.

If grilling: grill for about 3-4 mins each side for tofu, paneer, poultry & beef & about 2-3 mins for the prawns.

If using a griddle pan, cook the tofu, paneer, poultry, beef for about 2-3 mins on each side & prawns for about 2 mins.

These are also great on the barbecue.

Season with a twist of ground black pepper. Serve with warm protein peanut satay sauce, wedges of lime (the sharpness contrasts beautifully with the creaminess & spicy marinade) & salad. Makes a high protein great low carb snack or packed lunch when cool!