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This is the peanut sauce I remember from childhood, full of rich nuttiness from the peanuts and citrus fragrance from the lemongrass. There are quicker ways to make peanut sauce, and I have no judgement for using peanut butter as a shortcut. We live in a fast-paced world, and peanut butter makes a speedy yet delicious sauce. If you have the time, however, please do try making this sauce from scratch. There is also a method of deep-frying the peanuts to make the same recipe ten times more delicious. If you can spare the time and effort, heat up some oil in a saucepan and deep-fry the peanuts (skin on) until darkened and fragrant. Remove them from the oil and use these instead of dry roasted peanuts. It is laborious but delicious. I make this peanut sauce in large batches and store it in jars, so feel free to double this if you want to have a bit more on hand.

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Makes 1 Jar

• 150g dry roasted peanuts
• 50ml vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp tamarind concentrate (or paste)
• 3 tbsp gula melaka palm sugar (or dark brown soft sugar)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tbsp kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)

For the spice paste

• 8 dried red chillies, soaked in warm water for 20 minutes, drained, deseeded and roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 lemongrass stalk, cleaned, trimmed and roughly chopped
• 1.5cm piece of galangal, peeled and roughly chopped

Seasoning station (optional)

• Lime juice
• Chilli flakes
• Salt
• Brown sugar

1. Begin by blitzing the dry roasted peanuts in a food processor until they are fine but still have a bit of texture, then set aside and clean the food processor.
2. Place all of the ingredients for the spice paste in the food processor and blitz until smooth. If needed, add a few tablespoons of water to help it blend together.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a non-stick saucepan over a medium heat. Add the spice paste and fry it until fragrant.
4. Add the ground peanuts, the tamarind concentrate (or paste), sugar, salt, coriander and kecap manis to the pan along with 200ml of water. Stir to combine well and then adjust the balance of the sauce to your taste using the seasoning station ingredients.
5. Keep the pan over a medium-low heat, stirring continuously so the sauce doesn’t catch on the base of the pan. The oil should separate from the sauce once it is ready — this should take around 15 minutes.
6. Let the sauce cool completely before transferring to a sealed sterilised jar or airtight container.

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