Inside The Taste Kitchen Part 1 - Satay Sauce

If you are a patron of The Taste, you must be wondering how we made you addicted to lick your own fingers for our signature satay sauce. Don't be ashamed, some of us suffer from the same addiction too. It is commonly known as FLS (Finger Licking Syndrome) here at The Taste, usually induced from the disappointment after devouring the chicken satay too fast. And you want to know the secret? Relax, it is not opium, but our five-point golden rules that had been tested and tasted over and over to perfection.

Boil
We like to pamper our peanuts before they get all chopped up. We boil raw peeled peanuts to get rid of any unwanted smells or dirt - an essential step which many often ignore because it seems insignificant yet makes all the differences. 

​Fry
Deep-frying gives the peanuts texture. When peanuts are fried to crunchy golden brown, the irresistible fragrance comes along. It is absolutely festive when the chef drops hundreds of them at once and the party instantly starts. Oh did we mention our peanuts only fry in Rice Bran Oil? We cook all of our dishes in Rice Bran Oil because they are worth it and you are worth it. *wink*

​Crunch
Texture. Texture? Texture! take a shot when a Masterchef judge says "texture" and you will be gone before the end of the episode. Satay sauce without crunch? How primitive. Our chef spreads out the deep-fried peanuts on a sheet of paper towel to get rid of excess oil. Then, the peanuts are either chopped or blended into small chunks that occasionally get between your teeth but you wouldn't care until there is nothing left for you to munch.

​Simmer 
After we shower the peanuts with love and attention, it is time to make the sauce base. While the peanuts are being prepared, take you usual ingredients for a classic satay sauce, coconut milk, curry paste, etc, etc, and simmer them for a good amount of time until fragrant. 

​Mix
Nobody likes soft peanuts in satay sauce, not us, definitely not after the lengthy amount of time we spent on prepping those peanuts. That is why we cook the base of the sauce and peanuts separately, then mix them up before serving. In this way, each ingredient shines on its own without upstaging others.

​Now all the chef has to do is slathering the decadent sauce on top of freshly cooked chicken skewers. The creaminess of the sauce, the tenderness of the chicken, and on top of everything is the crunchiness of the peanuts, they all come through in this harmonious marriage of flavours and textures. Bellissimo! if you can smell it through the screen right now, give us a call, find us on Uber Eats, or race to our recently renovated The Taste Devonport store to get your craving fixed ASAP. Er, diet who?