thai peanut sauce

i wouldn't be surprised to find out that seattle has an equal number of thai food restaurants as we do starbucks. there is never a lack of thai food. luckily, i happen to enjoy thai food. a lot. one of my favorite thai flavors is the peanut sauce. my dad used to make a home made version that was slightly more complicated and involved a stove top... but the version i've created is fairly simple and tastes great at room temp on raw vegetables or thrown into a hot stir fry.

1 cubic inch fresh ginger, finely grated

1 or 2 cloves raw garlic, chopped

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

4 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/8 teaspoon dried chillies

1 teaspoon brown rice syrup or 1/4 cup coconut milk

notes: if you prefer a warm sauce over steamed vegetables or rice, try adding a quarter cup of coconut milk to your sauce and heating all ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat. if you prefer a thicker sauce for raw vegetables or to add into a stir fry, use brown rice syrup to slightly sweeten the sauce without adding too much liquid.

combine all ingredients in a food processor until combined to serve at room temperature or to add to stir fry. if making a warm sauce, combine ingredients in a sauce pan and cook at a low temp, stirring frequently. add additional coconut milk or water until you reach a desired consistency.

i love the sauce served with a mixture of raw and cooked vegetables and rice. this particular meal had red rice, cooked mushrooms and carrots with raw green bell peppers and avocado, served with sesame marinated bakes tofu.