Movie Night: Hangover 2

I would have normally gone to Hangover 2 opening weekend but I was, well, in Bangkok. More specifically, I was dragging Greg through the red light district sampling as many cart foods as we could stomach. And, here's the thing about eating on the streets of Bangkok, it can be rather difficult to stomach. For example, it was tricky to enjoy some noodles while sitting on a plastic stool across from a man sucking on a pile of chicken feet and spitting a staggering pile of the little bones on our shared table. Different culture-I get it! Truth be told I was more comfortable the week before in Bali with it's pungent spices and sweet tropical fruits. So this weekend before we see the flick I'm going to recreate a couple of Southeast Asian favorites, including the chicken satays with peanut sauce we made in our Balinese cooking class (see recipe below). The women in the village create the most delicious sauces by grinding ginger, tumeric, garlic and chilis into a large lava stone mortar and pestle. My perfect date night: thematic eating and a little Zach G (my other boyfriend). And I've seen the trailer...the boys aren't the only ones who make friends with monkeys, we did too! I was in awe of how daintily they shucked their peanuts.

The Recipes

sate ayam

chicken satay served with peanut sauce

for 2

chicken sate

3/4 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into small cubes

8 skewers, soaked

oil sauce

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. chopped garlic

1 T. chopped ginger

1 diced shallot

2 T. oil

peanut sauce

1 C. roasted peanuts

2 cloves of garlic

1-2 thai chilis

1 T. palm sugar

1 T. sweet soy sauce

1 T. lime juice

1/2 C. water

salt to taste

method

-toss chicken pieces in the oil sauce and marinate at least 4 hours

-skewer the chicken and grill satays until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side

-to make the peanut sauce grind all of the ingredients and make into a fine paste

-server skewers with peanut sauce, sticky rice and vegetable curry

The Menu

chicken satay with peanut sauce

vegetable curry with sticky rice

coconut, palm sugar crepes

tropical fruits (if i can get my hands on them) w/ lime

rambutans (greg's favorite), snake fruit (my favorite), passion fruit, mango, papaya

some Asian gummies from Thai Town for the theater