Proper Southeast Asian BBQ

I recently extolled the virtues of feather steak awhile back (when we had fajitas) and I brought it back this weekend for a BBQ we went to with some of our good friends. This steak worked a treat and the sauce is a yummy, sweet-spicy sauce that is just wonderful. The sauce recipe here works for any meat, really, and probably would work on a stronger-tasting fish as well.

The other is more or less a Thai-style BBQ shrimp with a peanut dipping sauce. Classic Thai flavors there and super easy to prepare. We were in such a hurry to eat everything, I neglected to take a good photo. Hopefully, you get the idea.

Indonesian Five-Spice Barbecue Sauce
3 garlic cloves
1-inch chunk of peeled fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
½ teaspoon sambal oelek (Indonesian chile paste), or 1 small fresh serrano or jalapeno chile, stemmed and seeded
½ cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate or paste
1 tablespoon tomato paste
½ cup soy sauce (preferably Tamari)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil

Place the garlic and ginger in a blender or the workbowl of a food processor and process to finely chop. Add the chili paste and process again to chop. Add the brown sugar, five-spice powder, tamarind concentrate, tomato paste, soy sauce, lime juice, and oil and process until smooth. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator, covered, up to 1 week.

Spicy Shrimp with Asian Peanut Dipping Sauce

DIPPING SAUCE
¼ cup peanut butter
1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
¼ cubes shrimp stock or clam juice
1 teaspoon honey
salt and black pepper
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
¼ cup scallion, finely sliced

SHRIMP
½ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 chile de arbol, or hot Asian chiles, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons cilantro, coarsely chopped
48 large shrimp, shelled and deveined
salt and black pepper

DIPPING SAUCE
Combine the peanut butter, gingerroot, garlic, soy sauce, lime juice, vinegar, stock, and honey in a food processor and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into a medium bowl, fold in the chopped cilantro, and sprinkle the green onion on top. May be refrigerated, covered, for 1 day; serve at room temperature. Makes 2 cups.

SHRIMP
Combine the oil, lime juice, chiles, gingerroot, garlic, and cilantro in a large shallow pan or baking dish. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Refrigerate, covered, for 2 hours, no longer.

Preheat a gas or charcoal grill to high. Remove the shrimp from the marinade, shaking off the excess (discard the used marinade). Grill until just cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. To serve, arrange the shrimp on a large serving platter and accompany with a bowl of the Peanut Dipping Sauce.