You Need This In Your Life

Everybody needs a go-to recipe, a reliable standby, always at the ready: everybody needs a jar of peanut sauce in their life. It is so easy to make, and can be made days, nay weeks, in advance, and it will happily live in the fridge until it is called upon. It is so simple to make, it doesn't really require a proper recipe. Just mix the ingredients together, and use straight away, or pour into a jar and refrigerate until you need to throw something together.

Below, you will find a list of ingredients, and many possible substitutes, including alternatives for nut allergies. There are no hard and fast quantities, because it all depends on personal taste, so do taste as you mix in each ingredient. The end result should be nutty and creamy, sweet, salty,  and sour. And why not hot as well, if that's how you like it.

Peanut Butter
Start with a heaping wodge, or a little under ½ cup, of natural, crunchy peanut butter. Salted and sweetened is fine, but try to avoid the stuff with palm oil, because it will not be silky if used in a cold dish.
Alternative: if peanuts are an issue, but not other nuts, substitute with a roasted nut butter, such as almond, cashew or hazelnut. If all nuts are off limits, tahini, soy nut butter, pumpkin or sunflower seed butter are possible options. For extra texture, add some toasted seeds to the sauce before serving.



Tamarind Paste
Tamarind can be found whole, as blocks, or in ready-made jars of sauce. I prefer the blocks because they are easy to use, and keep seemingly for ever. Just pick off a chunk, and cover with 250ml/ 1cup hot water. When the liquid has cooled down, break up the chunk to dissolve the pulp, then pass through a sieve. Tamarind is prized for its sourness and subtle sweetness, but any acid can be used instead. Add in tablespoonful increments, until a pleasant acidity is attained.
Alternative: pomegranate molasses -admit it, there's a bottle of the stuff at the back of the cupboard, and you don't know what to do with it: pomegranate molasses is a good substitute for tamarind in most recipes. Balsamic vinegar has a great sweet and sour taste. In fact, any vinegar will add the necessary acidity, but I would avoid distilled white vinegar as it is quite harsh. Do add sparingly as vinegars are quite a bit more acidic than tamarind. Lemon or lime juice contribute great citrus flavour, with the one caveat that fresh juice may somewhat shorten the shelf life of the final sauce.



Palm or unrefined cane sugar
Four teaspoons or 30g is a good place to start. Any brown sugar can be used, and to be honest, white sugar is fine in a pinch, though it will not contribute those complex caramel flavours provided by its darker counterparts. Maple syrup is also a good substitute: it will also help to loosen the sauce. When using sugar, dissolve with a few tablespoons warm water to make it easier to stir into the sauce.



Salt
Two teaspoons of regular salt, sea salt, soy sauce or tamari. Miso paste is also a great source of saltiness: it is chock full of umami, and will add lots of appealing savouriness. For non-vegetarians, fish sauce can be used sparingly instead.



Sambal Olek
I like using jarred chili paste, just because there are no surprises: the heat level will always be the same each time I open the jar. I especially like Sambal Olek with garlic, but you can use freshly chopped chilies and garlic if you prefer. Or you can use the adobo from a tin of chipotle, or any other hot sauce. Of course, the chilies can be left out altogether, it's really up to you.



Chopped Herbs
Fresh herbs should only be added just before serving, otherwise the sauce will go off within a few days. Not essential, the herbs add much needed colour to this otherwise brown sauce.



Once you are happy with the flavour of your sauce, have a look at its texture: it should be thick, but runny enough to drizzle. The peanut sauce can be thinned down with some water or a bit of toasted sesame oil. That's it! You've made some peanut sauce, so now what? Drizzle over stir-fried vegetables and rice noodles to make a pseudo Pad Thai in under fifteen minutes. Mix through chilled rice vermicelli, cucumber ribbons and lots of herbs for a lovely salad in the summer (bonus: minimal cooking on sweltering days.) Or, my favourite, use as a dipping sauce for summer rolls and crudités.



Bon App'!