A delicious savory-sweet peanut sauce is the perfect accompaniment to a South Asian Satay. Our recipe makes a large quantity!

Ingredients

3 tbsp groundnut oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp dried crushed chillies
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp desiccated coconut
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
½ can coconut milk
Juice of 1 lime

Recipe

Gently cook the onion in the oil until very soft, then add the garlic and chillies.
Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and cook for a couple of minutes.
Add the coconut milk, bring to a simmer, then add the peanut butter and desiccated coconut and cook gently until thickened. If you like extra tang, add some lime juice.
Leave to cool before serving.

Cook’s Notes

This makes a large amount, which can be frozen for future use. After defrosting just bring it to the boil and let it cool. It is quite spicy, so leave out some or all of the dried chillies of you prefer. If you have fresh chilllies you can of course use these.
Make a different version by omitting the desiccated coconut and sugar and adding a finely chopped can of pineapple.
If you want to make a creamy and delicious curry, add a whole can of coconut milk to the recipe and leave out the desiccated coconut if you like a thinner sauce. Brown some chicken pieces separately and stir into the sauce 15 minutes before eating, then add a handful of fresh chopped coriander before serving.