Peanut Sauce

Peanut Sauce is ubiquitous in Indonesian cuisine, serving as a dressing or dipping sauce for many different dishes, like Indonesian Chicken and Gado Gado (assorted steamed vegetables) and over rice.  It is also very popular in the Netherlands as Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in the 1600s. My Dutch mother-in-law, Jenny Stapel-Klop, provided her peanut sauce recipe to me, which I’ve adapted and present here to you; thank you Jenny!  Very tasty with a subtle blend of ingredients and a seductively silky texture, Peanut Sauce is one of our favorites. We really enjoy dipping celery sticks and carrot chips in peanut sauce as a snack, on the rare occurrence that there should be any leftover.  Make some peanut sauce for yourself and let us know what you served it with.

Prep Time: 10 minutes, Total Time: 35 minutes Yield: 2+ cups of peanut sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 Tb. Peanut Oil
• 1 small Onion, very finely diced
• 2 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tb. Sambal Oelek
• 3 Tbs. Rice Vinegar (you can substitute white or cider vinegar)
• 1 Tb. Soy Sauce
• 1 Tb. Sweet Soy Sauce (Ketjap Manis)
• 6 Tbs. Smooth/Creamy Peanut Butter (do not use crunchy style peanut butter)
• 1/2 Cup Water, at room temperature

Preparation:

1. Heat the peanut oil in a 1-quart sauce pan with a thick bottom; a thick-bottomed sauce pan will prevent scorching the sauce.
2. Add the onion and garlic to the oil and sauté uncovered over a medium heat until lightly golden-brown.
3. Add the sambal oelek to the sauce and sauté uncovered for another minute.
4. Lower the heat and add the vinegar, soy sauce, sweet soy sauce and peanut butter to the sauce pan.
5. Stir the sauce to thoroughly mix the ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly; the sauce will darken slightly.
6. Add about a third of the water slowly to the simmering sauce and stir to incorporate it into the sauce; the sauce will lighten in color with the addition of the water.
7. Continue to add the water in thirds to the sauce, stirring to incorporate the water into the sauce; the sauce will develop a silky consistency.
8. Remove from heat and cover until ready to serve.
9. You cannot reheat the sauce prior to serving, as it will break apart; while this will not affect its taste, its texture and presentation quality will suffer.
10. Serve with Indonesian Chicken, Gado Gado or other dishes.