Ginger Lemongrass Chicken Skewers With Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce Recipes

CHICKEN SATE WITH SPICY PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the chicken stock, coconut milk, soy sauce, shallot, garlic, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime zest, and ginger. Add the chicken strips and marinate for 1 hour. Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the marinade.
• Spray a nonstick grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over a medium-high flame. While pan is heating, thread chicken onto skewers. Grill 2 to 3 minutes per side, until meat is cooked through and has light grill marks.
• Serve chicken skewers with Peanut Dipping Sauce, and garnish with basil or cilantro and chopped peanuts.
• Yield: 4 servings (2 skewers and 2 tablespoons peanut sauce per serving)
• Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
• Sauce can be made 1 day ahead of time, and will keep 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator.

SPICY PEANUT SAUCE

Steps:

• In a saucepan heat oil over medium heat and sauté the scallions, garlic and ginger (about 1 minute).
• Add/stir in the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring.
• Simmer the sauce until smooth, then cool to room temperature.
• *NOTE* If you are refrigerating the sauce, and you find that the sauce is too thick after chilling, stir in a couple of tablespoons of hot water and stir until combined, adding more hot water until the sauce is of the right consistency.
• This sauce is best served at room temperature.

LIME-GINGER CHICKEN KABOBS WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry with a paper towel, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks, and sprinkle with salt.
• Stir mayonnaise, lime zest, ginger, salt, and pepper for the marinade in a bowl until smooth. Place chicken in a resealable plastic bag, add marinade, seal, and massage the bag until all the chicken pieces are coated. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least 2 hours, or up to overnight.
• Soak 6-inch wooden skewers in a bowl of water for at least 30 minutes.
• Whisk peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, and sambal oelek together in a bowl. Slowly whisk in small amounts of warm water until dipping sauce reaches the desired consistency; set aside.
• Heat the grill to medium-high and oil the grate.
• Remove chicken from the marinade and thread chicken onto the skewers; discard marinade.
• Place skewers on the hot grill and cook until chicken is cooked through and juices run clear, 10 to 12 minutes, lowering the heat if chicken is browning too fast. Turn skewers as often as necessary for even browning, and to keep the chicken from burning.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with fresh lime wedges and peanut sauce for dipping.

GINGER-LEMONGRASS CHICKEN SKEWERS WITH SPICY PEANUT DIPPING SAUCE

Steps:

• Cut the pale yellow bottom portion off the lemongrass stalk and discard the green top. Trim about 3/4 inch from the root end, then peel off and discard the tough outer layers. You should end up with a stick of only the more tender inner layers, about 1/2 inch thick and 3 inches long. Finely mince the lemongrass, along with the ginger and garlic; the pieces should be no bigger than 1/16 inch. (You can do most of this in a food processor and finish with a little hand chopping.) Put the mixture in a medium bowl and stir in the scallions, the oil, 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, 2 teaspoons of the fish sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon of the honey.
• Slice the chicken into 1/3-inch-thick strips about 1 inch wide-slice across the grain and at an angle on breasts, and with the grain on thighs. You should have about 30 strips. Add to the bowl with the lemongrass mixture, stir to coat the chicken evenly, and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
• To make the dipping sauce, put the peanut butter in a small bowl. Stir in enough warm water to make a thick sauce (about 1/4 cup, depending on the peanut butter), then add the vinegar, chile garlic sauce, and the remaining 2 teaspoons fish sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice, and 1/4 teaspoon honey. Taste and adjust the saltiness, heat, or acidity to your liking; thin with more water if necessary.
• Prepare a medium-hot gas or charcoal grill or heat a large grill pan. Meanwhile, thread the chicken onto the skewers. Grill the chicken, flipping once, until just cooked through, 1 to 3 minutes per side. (Alternatively, you can cook the skewers under a broiler-about 8 minutes total-but they won't brown as well.)
• Serve with the dipping sauce.