Peanut Sauce (Satay Sauce)

Crush the peanuts with a mortar and pestle or grind in a food processor and set aside.

Soak the tamarind pulp in ¼ cup warm water for 15 minutes, then squeeze and extract the juice and discard the pulp, keeping the tamarind juice.

Coarsely chop the spice paste ingredients — dried chilies, garlic, shallots, one strip of lemongrass, and galangal — then blend until very fine, adding a few tablespoons of water to help.

In a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat and add the spice paste along with the remaining two lemongrass strips. Cook until aromatic and fragrant.

Add the ground peanuts, water, tamarind juice, salt, sugar, coriander powder, and sweet soy sauce and stir to combine well.

Reduce to medium-low heat and stir continuously for 5-10 minutes until thickened to your desired consistency and the oil separates.

Let cool to room temperature and serve with satay.