There was rump steak in the fridge that needed using, along with green beans that wouldn’t hold much longer.
Onions, garlic and ginger were already there. A jar of peanut butter in the cupboard. Coconut milk on hand. The Malaysian curry powder from earlier.
Enough to build something solid without going anywhere else.
This wasn’t about making a separate satay sauce. It was about building a proper base and letting it turn into one.
What was used
Rump steak
Green beans
Onion
Garlic
Ginger
Malaysian curry powder
Peanut butter
Coconut milk
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
Brown sugar
Chilli
Lemon
Oil
What we did
The beef was sliced thin and cooked quickly in a hot pan so it coloured rather than stewed. It was taken out before it cooked through.
In the same pan, more oil went in and the onion was cooked down until soft and starting to take on colour.
Garlic, ginger and chilli followed, just long enough to bring them out.
The curry powder went in next and was cooked in the oil. A small splash of water was added to stop it catching and to let it open up properly.
Once the spice had settled, the peanut butter was stirred through, followed by the coconut milk.
Soy, fish sauce and a bit of sugar went in after that. It was tasted here and adjusted so it sat savoury rather than sweet.
The beef went back in along with the green beans and it was left to simmer gently until everything came together.
Off the heat, a small squeeze of lemon went in and it was adjusted again.
Browner than expected – I was aiming for something more yellow, but that’s the Malaysian curry powder doing its work. Deeper, richer, and it paid off in the end. This one landed exactly where it needed to.
What worked
Cooking the curry powder properly made the difference. It gave the whole dish depth rather than tasting like something stirred together at the end.
Getting colour on the beef early helped as well. It held its place in the dish instead of disappearing into the sauce.
The balance at the end mattered. The peanut and coconut can carry too much weight if nothing cuts through them.
What didn’t matter
Exact measures.
This came together by feel. Enough peanut to give it body, enough coconut to loosen it, enough salt and acid to keep it in check.
It doesn’t need to be precise.
Final note
This started as a way to use what was already there and ended up somewhere between a curry and a satay.
It holds together because the base was built properly, not because of any one ingredient.
Same approach, different combinations, and it would land somewhere else entirely.
Make do. Eat well.
Rough Cut Kitchen 
Leave a comment