Vietnamese Sate Sauce (Sot Sa Te recipe) is a fiery red sauce that is an excellent complement to various dishes, and is particularly good for stir-frying and grilling.
Do not mix Vietnamese Sate sauce with satay sauce that contains peanuts. Sa Te* is hot and delicious It is made with the familiar Vietnamese aromas as well as chili peppers. It is as Vietnamese chili oil and chili sauce. We love using it to grill food, such as in barbecued Squid recipe, grilled king oyster mushrooms recipe or even add some to seafood-fried rice (such as crab frittered rice or scallop Fried Rice).
Don’t also confuse it with the word sa-te in reference to Bun bo Hue (Vietnamese spicy beef Noodle soup). You can certainly add this sauce to all soup noodle to add more spice and flavor, however, it’s not exactly the same as the sa te needed for Bun bo Hue.
Ingredients to make Sate Sauce
Here are the essential ingredients for an full-on version of Sate sauce (some of the ingredients are not required however, in the event that they aren’t available at your Asian supermarkets).
Chili peppers To make this sauce, you’ll have to make use of two kinds of chilies. There is one called the hot bird’s-eye chili and the second is the mild, non-spicy chilli pepper.. In this recipe, I’m using the red variety of bananas ( ot sung) however, I believe it is possible to use other chili varieties so long as they’re red and are not spicy, or even mildly spicy.
Why there are two kinds of chilis? If you are using the only bird’s-eye chili that is 100 and sate sauce, it will be far too hot and you may not be able to utilize much of it to enhance the flavor of your meals.
Aromatics You will require lots of lemongrass, shallots galangal and garlic (optional). If you can’t find galangal in your Asian supermarket it’s fine to leave it out since the amount needed is not as large as other aromatics.
Oil and seasonings You will also require cooking oil with a neutral flavor as well as the soy sauce and salt as well as sugar. I also make use of dried shrimps (optional) that will provide depth to the sauce and decrease how much sugar is you need. If you are unable to locate it, don’t fret just add a few more tablespoons of sugar according to your preference.
See more: Bap Xao Recipe – Vietnamese Sauteed Corn w/ Dried Shrimps
Preparation
All aromatics and chilis (as as well with dried shrimps in the event of using) require to be coarsely chopped before being processed into fine pieces by a food processor.
I prefer to cook the lemongrass using dried shrimps and chilis, along with any remaining aromatics, making it easy to cook. Be aware, you don’t want to turn the ingredients into a paste.
How to Make Vietnamese Sate Sauce
After all the ingredients are made, the rest is fairly simple. The first thing to remember when cooking: use only moderate temperature as if the heat is excessive, it could cause the aromatics to burn and alter the color that the chilis produce. This means that the sate sauce will not be able to produce stunning deep red hue.
1 In the oil, heat it and add the lemongrass that has been processed along with dried shrimps. Cook until the lemongrass shrinks in size and acquires only a little color. Add the chilis and other aromatics. This initial stage of cooking could last up to 30 minutes.
2. Once all the ingredients have been softened, the sauce appears red , and you can smell it. Add the spices. The sauce will simmer for about 10 minutes, allowing the flavors mix and the sauce develops an extremely rich color.
So long as you’re using moderate temperature, you don’t have to monitor the process carefully. You just need to check and stir the mixture every now and then.
Vietnamese Sate Sauce – Sốt Sa Tế recipe
Ingredients
- Medium or huge lemongrass stalks white and very light green parts cut roughly (60g/2oz (or 3/4 cups chopped)
- 2 tablespoons chopped roughly dried shrimp Optional (15g/0.5oz)
- 1 tablespoon chopped and roughly chopped garlic (10g/0.4oz)
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallots (25g/0.9oz)
- 2 teaspoons of galangal roughly chopped (10-15g/0.4-0.5oz) Optional
- 3 medium or small bird's eye chilis and seeds removed
- Red bananas with 6 seeds or any other mildly spicy red peppers with seed removed (120g/4oz)
- 3/4 cup cooking oil with neutral flavor (180ml)
- 1 tablespoon salt (to taste)
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon sugar (to taste)
Instructions
- Place the lemongrass along with dried shrimps (if you are using) inside a small food processor (or smaller food processor) and then process into small pieces. Transfer the pieces to a bowl and put aside.
- Place garlic, shallots galangal, and both kinds of chilis into the food processor (or food processor) and process into very tiny pieces. Be cautious to not to turn into an unrecognizable paste. Transfer to a bowl , and put aside.
- Cook oil on medium heat in a saucepan. Then, add the lemongrass that has been processed as well as dried shrimp. For 7-8 minutes, cook with stirring every now and then until lemongrass has diminished in volume and added only a little color.
- Incorporate the shallots processed with the chilis, galangal, and garlic to the dish. Then cook for around twenty minutes while stirring often until all the ingredients are softened. The sauce appears like red, and you can smell it. It is possible to lower the heat to a lesser degree if you need to.
- Add sugar, salt and soy sauce. Continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes, allowing all flavors to blend and the sauce will have an extremely rich color. Adjust the seasonings to suit your taste.
- Transfer the sauce into an empty container or bowl and allow it to cool completely. It can be stored inside an airtight container in the fridge and it should be kept for several weeks.
