pindasaus

It’s one of the great ironies of the world, that the best food comes from the worst of times. The colonial history of a country will often be reflected in their food, and Pindasaus is no exception. Found predominantly in the Dutch Caribbean, mainly Curaçao and Bonaire, this creamy peanut sauce harks back to when Indonesia was a Dutch colony.

Growing up on Curaçao, we spent a lot of time on the beach. Chicken skewers with Pindasaus was always a regular feature on the menu’s of the beach traders, and was always one of my favourites. Recreating this dish at home never fails to take me back to those day, spending all our hours in the tropical heat.

Known locally as Sòus di Pinda, this is essentially a satay sauce gone wild. Locals tend to use it on everything. From chicken to fish, they even scoop it onto chips and dip into mayonnaise. Below is my recipe, which I developed as an amalgamation of a bunch of recipes I gathered from Curaçao locals. Feel free to amend as much as you like, but do try to keep the kecap manis and sambal, they seem to be the secret to the taste.

 
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for the saus

200g good quality chunky peanut butter

1 tbsp peanuts

2 shallots

2 cloves of garlic

1 tsp fresh ginger

3 tsp sambal

2 tbsp palm sugar

3 tbsp kecap manis

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 tbsp coconut milk (plus more if needed)

method

  1. Finely dice the shallots and garlic, then grate the ginger.

  2. Cook these over a medium heat in a large saucepan with the vegetable oil until soft.

  3. Turn the heat to low.

  4. Add in the rest of the ingredients, except for the peanuts and coconut milk.

  5. Stir everything together and warm until it all comes together.

  6. Add in the coconut milk and stir. Feel free to add more coconut milk in order to get to a consistency similar to mayonnaise.

  7. Remove from the heat and top with the peanuts.

  8. Use it however you see fit. I like to grill some chicken thigh skewers and dip them in the sauce, but this goes amazingly with so many different things. You can even add in a lot more coconut milk and use it as the base for a peanut curry, just add the meat/vegetables and serve with rice.

This should keep in the fridge for around a week if sealed and stored properly.