You can buy basic Asian ingredients in most supermarkets these days and if you enjoy Thai food, you’ll love this classic satay sauce  – and it only takes a couple of minutes to make.

Use it as a dip for raw veg as I did here, or serve it with grilled skewered tofu, shrimp, chicken, beef or pork – it’s authentic tasting and absolutely delicious.

Whether you’re grilling indoors or out, add this to your repertoire of sauces and make it a few hours ahead to allow the flavors to develop. It keeps for several days covered in the fridge but bring it to room temperature before serving.

The below measurement can be adjusted to suit your taste-buds, so you may want to tweak it at the end until you think it’s perfect.

Note: it’s made with Thai fish sauce and peanuts, so is unsuitable for vegetarians and folks with a peanut allergy.

Thai Satay Sauce

THAI SATAY DIPPING SAUCE

(Makes approx 1 & 1/2 cups / 360ml)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of coconut or vegetable oil (not olive)

1/2 – 1 teaspoon of Thai red curry paste, depending on how much heat you like

1/2 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1/2 cup ( 120 ml measure) of smooth peanut butter

1 cup (240 ml measure) of coconut milk  – or half coconut milk, half water

2 teaspoons of Thai fish sauce, aka ‘nam-pla’

1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice

A little sugar or your preferred sweetener, to taste

Action:

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over a moderate heat then add the turmeric and red curry paste – stir around for a minute or so until blended and sizzling.

Add the remaining ingredients, turn the heat down to low and whisk gently for a couple of minutes until  the sauce begins to bubble.

Remove it from the heat, continue to stir for another minute or so then adjust the ingredients if you need to, until you have a perfect spicy-salty-sweet combination of flavors with the desired consistency.

Transfer the sauce to a bowl, cover with cling film and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Bring it to room temp before serving.