#TripleSBites: Spicy Chicken Skewers with Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce

So.

I don't know what it is about food that can be eaten without utensils, but it somehow seems to me that they belong on a romantic menu.
I went looking for a literary reference that I remembered reading long ago from a Gordon Korman book called Son of Interflux (literary is in the eye of the beholder) where Simon is counseled on what to eat on his date with Wendy.  If I remember correctly (we're talking I read this 25-30 years ago), He's advised to eat salad, and forego the poppyseed rolls because the seeds get stuck in your teeth.
This recipe has neither seeds nor salad. It is, however, a nice meal to share.  A little like fondue, a little spicy and unexpected. J and I both enjoyed these skewers.  The marinade is easy, the dipping sauce is spicy and if you're me, you might consider spreading it on crackers afterwards.
This is also somewhat heart healthy, as it comes from Anne Lindsay's Lighthearted Everyday Cooking.  So there you go.  You're even considering the health of your loved one.  You're welcome.
I present to you now Anne Lindsay's Spicy Chicken Skewers with Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce:

Ingredients:
For the Skewers
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin, wide strips (about 5" long)
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
2 Tbsp dry sherry
2 Tbsp liquid honey
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp minced ginger
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes

For the Sauce
1/2 c natural peanut butter
1-1/3 c water
3 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp hot pepper flakes
1-1" piece of ginger

Method:
1.  In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, sherry, honey, soy sauce, ginger, oil, garlic, and pepper flakes.  Mix well and add chicken, stirring to coat.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
2.  Make the Sauce:  In a blender or food processor, combine water, garlic, sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, ginger and hot pepper flakes.  Process until smooth.  Add peanut butter and combine well.  Pour into the top of a double boiler.  Over boiling water, cook the sauce for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve warm with the skewers.
3.  30 minutes before cooking, soak 12 bamboo skewers in warm water.  Remove chicken from marinade and thread onto skewers (You can also make these as an appetizer, reducing the size of the chicken pieces and cooking on toothpicks).
4.  Grill skewers until no longer pink inside.  Alternately, you can broil on a baking sheet.

From Lighthearted Everyday Cooking (I own the 1991 edition)

I took a picture of the sauce cooking.  You need to keep stirring from time to time, because it cooks down and a crust forms on the edge of the pan.  It melts back into the sauce beautifully, but you need to keep stirring it back in.  The sauce is lovely - spicy, sweet and very peanutty.  J licked the bowl I gave him for dinner clean.  That's right.  Licked.  We have moments of class here.

Nary a salad or a poppyseed in sight.  Just a delicious dinner for sharing.  Spicy chicken with a spicy dipping sauce.  Yum.











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