Beef Satay Wrap

 

This is my take on satay. Succulent grilled meat wrapped in Vietnamese rice paper and dipped in homemade peanut sauce. Yum!

I've never worked with Vietnamese rice papers before but I found them to be pleasantly accommodating. I even did a small victory dance after successfully rolling my beef satay in them. Heh.

I've broken down the recipe into several parts. Figured it would easier this way.

Onion Paste
Ingredients:
2 red onions, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 inch ginger, peeled and sliced
1 inch galangal, peeled and sliced
2 stalks lemongrass, outer skin removed and sliced (use only the tender part)

Beef Satay (makes 6-7 rolls)
Ingredients:
500 grams beef (1 large cut) (use any of your favourite tender cuts), butterflied and scored
1 part onion paste
2 tsps meat curry powder
3 tsps brown sugar
2 tbsps vegetable oil
Salt to taste

Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
1 cup raw shelled peanuts, dry roasted, skin removed and roughly ground
1 part onion paste
2 tsps chili powder
3 tsps brown sugar
1 tsp concentrated tamarind paste
2 screwpine leaves, tied in a loose knot
3 cups water
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for sauteing

For wrapping:
Vietnamese rice papers
Romaine lettuce
Fresh coriander leaves

Method - Onion Paste:
Grind the onions, garlic, ginger, galangal and lemongrass with a little water into a paste. Divide into two parts.

Method - Beef Satay:
Mix the onion paste with curry powder, brown sugar, salt and vegetable oil and use it to marinate the beef, preferably overnight. Grill the beef (charcoal grill gives the best flavour) until tenderly cooked. Allow the meat to rest (covered with foil) before cutting it into strips.

Method - Peanut Sauce:
In a bowl, mix the ground peanut with water. Mix the chili powder into the onion paste and in a saucepan, saute the onion-chili paste and screwpine leaves in some vegetable oil until aromatic. Add the ground peanut, tamarind paste, brown sugar and salt and simmer until the mixture becomes a thick sauce (you can adjust the sugar and salt according to your preference). Leave to cool.

Assembly:
Soften a rice paper by soaking in warm water and lay it on a clean plate. Line one end of the rice paper with two Romaine lettuce leaves (overlapping one another) and some fresh coriander leaves. Then place the beef satay on top and gently (but firmly) roll the rice paper. Cut diagonally in half.