Thai Pork Satay with Peanut Sauce, Made with Monk Fruit Sweetener

Method

1. Slice 450g pork shoulder into thin strips 2cm long and about 0.6cm thick, and put them in a mixing bowl.
2. Pound 1.5 teaspoons toasted coriander seed, 1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin seed and 1/4 teaspoon white pepper to a fine powder. Add 1 tablespoon finely sliced lemongrass, 1 teaspoon minced galangal and 1 teaspoon minced fresh turmeric, and keep pounding. Stir in 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon ground clove, 2 teaspoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar, 80ml coconut milk and 60ml water until dissolved.
3. Pour the marinade over the pork and work it in by hand, separating the slices. Cover well and refrigerate overnight, or for at least 2 hours.
4. Make the peanut sauce: grind 120ml roasted peanuts and 2 tablespoons toasted white sesame seeds to a fine texture, stopping before they turn into a paste.
5. Set a small pot over medium heat and reduce 60ml coconut milk by half. Add 2 tablespoons red curry paste and stir constantly for about 2 minutes until it thickens.
6. Add the remaining 240ml coconut milk with the ground peanuts and sesame, 1 to 2 teaspoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 2 to 3 tablespoons tamarind paste, and stir well. Simmer a few minutes more until thick, stirring constantly so it does not catch.
7. Make the quick pickled cucumber: bring 120ml white vinegar to a boil with 60ml kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and a small pinch of salt until dissolved, then cool it completely. Put 120ml sliced cucumber, 1 tablespoon thinly sliced shallot and 8 to 10 slices of hot chili in a bowl, keep it in the fridge, and pour the cooled vinegar over at the table.
8. Thread about 3 pieces of pork onto each soaked bamboo skewer. Brush coconut milk over the top face and lay the skewers on a medium grill, brushed side down first.
9. Brush coconut milk over the other side, grill for about 1 minute until the pork is half cooked, then turn and finish. Thin slices take only a few minutes, so they need close watching.
10. Toast 4 slices of sandwich bread until golden and crisp, then cut each slice into 9 squares. Serve the skewers with the peanut sauce, the pickled cucumber and the toast.

Tips

• Chicken works cut into small cubes, and beef works with tenderloin or striploin sliced thin.
• Bamboo skewers scorch easily over charcoal, so wrapping the handles in foil protects them.
• Without a grill, a very hot cast iron pan browns both sides just as well.
• Galangal, lemongrass, fresh turmeric and tamarind paste are all easy to find at a Vietnamese market, and red curry and massaman pastes are sold at Thai spice stalls.
• kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly in cold vinegar, so warming the liquid and stirring again after 5 minutes brings it fully into solution.
• The peanut sauce thickens as it cools, so the heat goes off while it is still loose, and a little coconut milk thins it again at serving time.