This dish started out as teriyaki tacos, but then I decided I wanted to make peanut sauce. I found myself torn between going more Thai or more Japanese, so I resolved to combine a bunch of my favorite Asian flavors from different countries wrapped up in a warm tortilla.
Asian Flavors:
Peanut sauce is loved around the world, and it has a fascinating history. The Spanish and Portuguese did not bring peanuts to Africa and Asia until the 1500s, but their use has become deeply rooted in traditional cooking. Peanut sauce was originally intended to accompany satay, meat skewers popular in southeastern Asia. The exact origins of these meat skewers are a bit ambiguous, but the two most popular stories are as follows:
One possibility is that satay was invented by Chinese immigrant street vendors who sold skewered barbeque meat. Another possibility is that Indonesians or Malaysians invented this popular meat dish inspired by Arab kebabs. Today, the people of China and Thailand prefer pork or chicken satay, while those in Indonesia and Malaysia tend to prefer beef or lamb.
This sweet and savory sauce is traditionally made with roasted peanuts, but peanut butter is a popular Western substitute. Recipes for this sauce vary widely across different kitchens, and with such tasty ingredients, there is a lot of room for experimentation!
Interestingly enough, the Spanish and Portuguese brought chili peppers from the Americas to Asia around the same time as they brought peanuts. Sambal oelek at its core is simply a flavorful paste made by grinding spicy chili peppers with salt and often other flavorings with a mortar and pestle-like tool. It has thousands of variations, and just as many different uses.
Sambal is definitively Indonesian in origin, though an exact date of creation is not known. Every Indonesian kitchen sees several variations of sambal (not just sambal oelek!) prepared fresh every day.
Tortillas:
The tortilla is special in that it is a uniquely Mesoamerican food thought to have originated some 12,000 years ago, coinciding with the domestication of corn*. Corn itself served as a primary source of energy and nutrients for the Mayans and Aztecs, and tortillas have long been a very popular preparation of this golden grain.
You'll never guess what happened next.
In the 16th century, the Spanish came. Conquistadors lead by Hernan Cortés discovered the flatbread known in the native Aztec language as tlaxcalli and spread it around the world. They named this newly found snack tortilla from the Spanish word tort, meaning "cake". Along with this mixing of cultures came the arrival of flour in the New World, which quickly made its way into new recipes for tortillas.
*Read more about corn in my Mex n' Cheese post!
Time: 45 minutes Serves: 6-8 people
Ingredients:
For the marinade:
¾ cup Orange juice
¼ cup Soy sauce
6 cloves Garlic
2 tsp Sambal
2 tsp Ginger
1 Green onion bulb, sliced
2 chicken breasts
Toppings:
2 Red plums, thinly sliced
½ cup rice (dry)
½ cup crushed peanuts
1-2 limes (quartered)
Pickled ginger
Shredded carrots
Cabbage (finely sliced)
Cilantro
Green onion
For the peanut sauce
3 tbsp peanut butter
1 ½ - 2 tbsp soy sauce
1 ½ - 2 tbsp Rice vinegar
4-6 cloves Garlic
2-3 tsp Sambal
Lime juice (~½ lime)
Hot water (until consistency is right)
Preparation:
Prepare the marinade by combining orange juice, soy sauce, garlic, sambal, ginger, and green onion bulb in a medium glass bowl. Add the chicken breasts and let sit for at least 30 minutes.
While chicken is marinating, prepare the toppings. Mix the carrots and cabbage together to create a slaw.
Prepare the peanut sauce last among the toppings. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, and rice vinegar to a small bowl and mix thoroughly until combined. Mix in garlic, sambal, and lime juice. Finally, pour in hot water, a little at a time, until the consistency of the sauce resembles that of yogurt (or slightly thinner).
Once chicken is done marinating, caramelize it on a griddle until golden brown and cooked all the way through. Slice it into strips to serve.
Warm tortillas on stovetop using preferred method, and gather up all the fun toppings to serve!
Food History Sources:
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