Peanut Sauce (for Satay / Nasi Empet)

This is a family favorite eaten on the morning of Eid.Normally we have it with Nasi Empet (Compressed Rice) and Kuah Lodeh(a creamy coconut vegetable dish).

My version of the peanut sauce has dried squids in them.You can also add chicken pieces if you like.

Ingredients:
600 g peanuts fried in a frying pan over low heat and no oil used.Grind in a grinder coarsely
3 or 4 pieces of candlenuts ( buah keras)
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 sticks of lemon grass (serai), cut the top stalk and mash with the end of a flat knive.
2 cm lengkuas (galangal)
4 or 5 shallots. You can use 1 onion if shallots are not available
5 cloves garlic
About 4 tablespoon dried chilli paste or chilli boh
salt, sugar and tamarind juice.
Dried squids is soaked in water for a few hours before cutting into bite sizes and boiling in plain water
1 pint water or just enough to form the sauce
Some oil for cooking the sauce

The candlenuts,coriander,shallots, garlic and galangal are grinded in a blender.
Heat oil in a wok or saucepan.Stir fry the grounded ingredients.Add the chilli paste. Cook over low heat till chillies are properly cooked and fragrant. Add the lemon grass stalks.
Add water and drained squids.Add grounded peanuts,sugar, salt and tamarind juice.Stir and cook until the oil rises to the top.Add water if the gravy becomes dry.

If tamarind juice is not available, use lemon juice.Dried squids, Lemon grass and galangal can be omitted of not available.

To prepare nasi empet:

Wash and toss dry 2 cups of rice.Use a fork to pierce tiny holes in a rectangular (15cmx20cm)polyethylene plastic bag.Fill the bag to slightly less than half its volume with the rice.Staple the end of the plastic bag so that the rice will not spill.Make sure the plastic bag used is quite thick and does not peel when boiled in water.Submerge the rice packets into a pot of clean water and boil. Close the pot with its lid and boil for about 1 to 2 hours or until the rice has expanded in the plastic bag.You have to make sure that the water does not boil dry by replacing boiled water to submerge the plastic bags all the time while cooking.When the rice is cooked, you can place it in a clean dry tray to cool. Cut the rice in cubes and serve with the peanut sauce with slices of cucumber.

Tomorrow I will be writing on how to make the kuah lodeh.Well, come this Eid, Ikmal and Afif who may be celebrating away from home, can cook their own lontong. That is the name of peanut sauce, kuah lodeh and nasi empet all put together. Lontong is served in a bowl with the sauce and gravy served hot.