This exotic peanut sauce has oodles of ingredients, but they’re neither difficult nor expensive to put together. I make it during the weekend, splitting the quantity in half, one half freezes for another time, one half is served with chicken and roasty vegetables later in the week.

Peanut sauce:

1 large onion, chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, chopped fine

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 tablespoons chili garlic paste or 1 teaspoon chili flakes

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup peanut butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/2 lemon’s worth of juice

1/2 cup crushed peanuts

1/2 cup boiling water

Put two tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil in a saucepan, heat to medium, add onion and garlic.
Turn heat to low and cook down for about five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add curry powder and chili paste or chili flakes, cook for another few minutes to settle those flavors down.
Settle down. Settle down. Settle down.

Add the peanut butter and coconut milk, blend all together. Add the cinnamon and bay leaves.

Keep stirring!
Add the vinegar and lemon juice and brown sugar and keep stirring.
Stir in half the crushed peanuts.

Put on the kettle to boil that water.

Bring the whole gloppy, separating mixture to a boil and then turn to low. Simmer for up to twenty minutes.
Pull out the bay leaves and toss them in your favorite toss hole.

Grab your immersion blender, regular blender or food processor and either plunge, dump or pour depending on the machine you’ve grabbed. Take 1/2 cup of the boiling water and add slowly and carefully whilst you blend the sauce. I’ve heard this helps bind the mixture together into that which is smooth.

When “saucy,” split between two containers.

Freeze one and save the other one for dinner!

With the other half of the peanut sauce, you can make an Indonesian chicken salad, a dip for roast broccoli and cauliflower, a tasty toss with rice noodles or hell, just pour it in a coffee mug and slurp it all down.

It’s delicious at room temperature topped with the other half of the crushed peanuts and some shredded basil leaves.