Right after I was done with college, my mom, dad, and I got into this habit of driving around without a destination, just looking to relax and unwind. In the process, we got to try a lot of different restaurants all over Luzon, in the Philippines.
One of our favorite was Thai restaurants. The delicious Chicken Satay, bagoong rice with green mangoes and scrambled eggs, and delectable peanut sauce served with it is enough to keep us dreaming till the next Thai meal. Rounded out with Thai Iced Tea and we’ve got fuel enough to take us wherever that full tank of gas can go.
Fast forward 21 years later, allergic to shrimp, I have not been able to eat this in a restaurant because of possible cross contamination. So what was I to do? Make it at home, so that I am sure of what went into my food!
This is a very delicious meal, even without the Bagoong rice. If you are not allergic to shrimp, I recommend you try this with the Bagoong fried rice. I did provide an easy guide at the very bottom of this article.
2 pounds chicken breasts, sliced into pieces about 1”x2.5”
MARINADE:
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped red chili, optional
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons minced ginger, or ginger paste
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 heaping teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
SAUCE:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/3 cup water
Procedure:
1. In a medium sized bowl, mix together all marinade ingredients until well blended.
2. Add chicken slices and mix well to coat evenly.
3. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, up to overnight, to allow the chicken to absorb the flavors. In the meantime, soak short bamboo skewers in water.
4. Skewer 3 – 4 pieces of chicken in bamboo skewers and set aside.
5. Grill until done on one side, then turn to cook the other side. I used my stovetop griddle/grill plate as it was too cold to grill outside today.
6. Repeat with all remaining chicken skewers.
7. Place all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. *Forgot to take a picture of this sauce! Sorry! I will update once I make it again!
8. Serve with chicken and rice. Enjoy!
*This is usually served with fermented shrimp paste rice. My son and I are both allergic to shrimp so we do not serve it this way. If you do want to make it, though:
Heat a pan and add some canola oil. Saute minced garlic until golden then add chopped onions. Cook until onions are golden and soft. Add a few spoonfuls of bottled bagoong (fermented shrimp paste). Mix well and add cooked rice. Stir to heat up the rice and distribute the shrimp paste evenly. Season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with scrambled eggs sliced in long strips.