I was at a local grocery store located in a small mall that's located in the bottom of a hotel. It's kind of like a little piece of Western culture in the middle of a Southeast Asian culture. I was by myself and looking forward to sipping on some coffee as I did some grocery shopping while the husband and toddler were at home. All was going according to plan...Coffee, check. Groceries, check. Now, I just needed to go by the ATM so that I could get some more cash to get a taxi back home.
To my surprise (and failure to pay attention to the expiration date of my debit card) I was unable to withdraw any cash thanks to my card JUST expiring, literally only a week prior. I counted the amount of cash I had left. I had about $1.40. There was no way I was going to get a taxi so I decided it was inevitable that I would have to take a becak.
In case you are a new reader and haven't seen a photo of a becak, here's a photo I took of a becak that was parked across the street from our house...
It's hard to see the side-cart in this photo, so if you're interested, you can visit another one of my posts that features a photo of a becak.
So, with ALL my groceries in tote (thankfully I brought along one of those durable IKEA bags to consolidate some of the grocery bags), I walked down to the street to catch a becak. Considering my skin color, and the fact that I'm a female, I was really taking a shot in the dark at getting a ride back home for $1.40. Thankfully, the first guy that pulled over believed my story...because yes, I gave him the whole spiel about my debit card expiring and that I honestly only had $1.40. He still tried to ask for $2.00 in which I replied, "Seriously...I have $1.40." He nodded his head which meant he was ok with the price (and let's be honest, that was probably a fair price anyway) and I piled all my groceries inside the small space. At one point, while at a red light, I glanced over and saw another local woman riding in a becak with all over her groceries. I felt pretty proud of myself.
Upon arriving home, I was really feeling the culture, so I decided I was going to try my hand at making a local dish: chicken satay with peanut sauce. To my surprise, it turned out pretty delicious. The Mr. enjoyed the peanut sauce more than I did (my expectations have been set high by a local restaurant with a tasty peanut sauce that I can't seem to replicate). Even so, today I'm sharing the recipe with you!
Chicken Marinade:
1 lb. of chicken cut into strips
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 limes
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. freshly grated ginger
Preparation of chicken:
- Soak chicken in marinade for 1 hour, or up to 4 hours for more flavor.
- Add each chicken strip to a wooden skewer.
- Place chicken skewers onto a skillet and cook for about 5 minutes on each side.
Peanut Sauce:
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 teaspoons hot sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 lemon, juiced
1/4-1/2 cup hot water
Mix all ingredients together and add hot water a little bit at a time until you get a pourable consistency. I actually could have added a little more water to my sauce. Mine was a little too thick.
I served the chicken satay with brown rice (molded with a bowl, just like they do here) and this sweet and sour cucumber salad.
The Mr. was pleased with the results and Little Man was indifferent, as usual. He'd prefer I give him gummy bears and Coca-Cola for every meal.
So if you're feeling like doing something different for dinner, try out this chicken satay recipe!
For a different peanut sauce, try out this recipe. If you'd like to try a different marinade for your chicken, try this recipe.
Sounds delish!! I'm hosting a pillow cover giveaway that you should enter. http://homecomingmn.blogspot.com/2013/10/pillow-covers-giveaway.html
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