Pork Satay With Vegetables and Thai Coconut Yogurt Dressing
Slabs of pork tenderloin are marinated satay style, brushed with the spice infused curry marinade while grilling, then topped with a unique coconut cucumber yogurt dressing and satay sauce.
This recipe is based on the premise that thin slabs of anything marinated and skewered, create more surface area for marinade and grill charring, and dry out less, which is why I love satay. Satay refers to a Southeast Asian style of skewered meat. I’ve had them at Thai restaurants many times, marinated in wonderfully flavorful coconut curry spices. My rendition uses pork tenderloin, for it’s ease in preparation and leaner cut (pork butt is more typically used), and includes vegetables and two sauces for a complete meal.
Gorgeous pork satay with two super sauces
RECIPE RECAP:
~ Reinvent Thai satay using pork tenderloin. Served alongside veggie skewers with a spiced curry lime drizzle and coconut cucumber dressing, it makes a bright and beautiful meal.
~Plan of attack:
1. prep the two sauces (one’s a marinade too). 2. turn pork tenderloin and veggies into slabs and marinate. 3. skewer and grill, then drizzle and top with the two sauces.
Ingredient notes and substitutions
- Pork tenderloin– the shape of the tenderloin makes it easy to cut into slabs that take on lots of flavor from the marinade. I’ve read that pork is actually the most commonly used satay meat in Southeast Asia.
- Veggies– red cabbage and onions are chosen for their ability to be cut into slabs and hold up on the grill. Summer squash, zucchini, or portabello mushrooms would also be great choices.
- Coconut cucumber dressing– coconut milk is added to yogurt to create a unique tzatziki style dressing, tangy with lime and fragrant with fresh herbs. Pickled or fresh jalapeno adds a welcome kick to the dressing but you can leave it out if you do not want the heat.
- Satay Sauce– half of the marinade is held aside to heat up and thicken with a slurry so you can drizzle it over the finished product. So good (photos coming soon).
- Purple Basil– totally optional as a garnish. It compliments the colors of the satay beautifully. See last photo in post.
Step-by-step instructions
If using wooden skewers, I always soak them in water for 15 minutes or so, so they are less likely to burn on the grill.
Mix the marinade ingredients, prep and slice the pork (see recipe card for details), and place the slabs of pork in 1/4 of the marinade. Another 1/4 of the marinade is left for the veggie skewers and the final 1/2 of the marinade is heated on medium heat closer to serving time, and whisked with a cornstarch slurry which thickens it a little to create a tasty drizzle sauce.
Above: protein prep begins by cutting the tenderloin into thirds across the length, then cutting each third into 4 slabs before marinating.
Next you should prep the ingredients for the coconut cucumber yogurt dressing, and mix them altogether in a bowl, then set the bowl in the fridge to chill and marinate.
Next, prep the vegetables by cleaning them and slicing them into slabs about 1/4-1/2″ thick. This should allow you to then thread them onto skewers. Place the finished skewers on some parchment on a sheet pan, brush with a tad of olive oil and brush both sides with the marinade.
Above:
With all the other prep complete, you can thread the pork slabs onto skewers, taking care to thread them through the long way, and keeping the meat stretched out on the skewers versus bunching it up.
The last thing to do before heading to the grill is to create the thickened satay sauce by heating the reserved half of the sauce in a small pan over medium heat. Once it is bubbling around the edges, keep it to a simmer, and add the slurry mix of cornstarch and water, then whisk for a few minutes until it thickens enough for your liking. It should dribble off the spoon rather than pouring off like water.
It’s grill time. Head out to the grill. I recommend brushing the grill surface so it is clean, and brushing the surface with a bit of oil, since the veg and pork do not have much fat in them.
I like to grill the veggies first, for a few minutes on high with lid closed, flipping to get both sides, then move them to the side and grill the pork skewers, only for about 5 minutes per side, and also, on med-high with lid closed. For all the skewers brush both sides as you grill them, with the extra marinade you should still have.
Your finished skewers should look lovely. They should have a golden hue from the turmeric and curry spices and some delicious char and grill marks. Time to dig in with the coconut cucumber dressing and satay sauce!
Above: a finished platter of pork and vegetable skewers fresh off the grill.
Tips for making this recipe
- Make the coconut dressing ahead by a few hours or a full day.
- Make the marinade a day ahead and prep and marinate the pork a day ahead.
- Create the thickened satay sauce a day ahead or the morning of.
- Prep and skewer the veggies ahead.
- If you do the above ahead of time, then you’ve only got threading the pork and grilling the food to do at meal time.
- Keep the veggies and pork on separate skewers since they cook in different amounts of time.
- Grill cleaning and treatment- since the skewers and marinade do not contain much fat, I recommend cleaning and wiping grill with oil before cooking, and also drizzling a tad of oil on the veg skewers when threading them to avoid sticking.
- Grill time to avoid sticking- I also recommend letting the skewers of both the veggies and pork grill for a solid 5 minutes before attempting to move and flip them with tongs, to avoid sticking and breakage. Take care to loosen the meat the full lengh of skewer before attempting to pick it up to flip.
Above: The full platter of pork and veggie satay are drizzled with the coconut Thai yogurt dressing and garnished with purple basil!
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Related Recipes
- This is the first skewer and grilling recipe I’ve posted but check out my other Main Dishes!
- Be sure and try my Cucumber Yogurt Salad with Thai Flavors, based on the yogurt dressing used in this recipe!
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Pork Satay With Vegetables and Thai Coconut Yogurt Dressing
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Start CookingKitchen Tools
- 1 outdoor grill, sub broiler or indoor grill appliance
Ingredients
Pork for satay
- 1 pound pork tenderloin (or a bit over a pound, as they often are – see notes)
Vegetables for satay (see notes)
- 1/2 purple cabbage (sliced into 1/2" slabs)
- 4 spring (young) onions (sub small onion any type or scallions (green onions) – see notes)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (to drizzle on veggie slabs before grilling)
Satay Marinade
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 4 tsps lime juice (fresh squeezed, to taste)
- 4 tsps brown sugar (sub coconut sugar)
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp curry
- 1 tsp garam masala
Slurry
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp water
Coconut Yogurt Cucumber Dressing
- 1 cup cucumbers (I use baby w/skins on)
- 1/2 cup greek non-fat yogurt (sub whole milk and/or regular yogurt)
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 1 tsp white sugar
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsps fresh basil (chopped)
- 2 tbsps fresh cilantro (chopped, sub parsley)
- a few slices of pickled or sweet/sour jalapenos (sub 1/2 fresh jalapeno finely minced.)
Optional side: serve with cooked jasmine rice if desired.
Instructions:
Make Satay Marinade – 5 min
- Mix 1 cup coconut milk,4 tsps lime juice,4 tsps brown sugar,1 tsp sea salt,1 tsp turmeric,1 tsp ginger,1 tsp curry,1 tsp garam masala in a bowl and whisk for a bit to dissolve the sugar.
- Divide the marinade in two. Put half aside to create a finishing sauce at end of recipe. Keep the other half nearby to marinate the pork and veggies, and brush over veggies when on the grill.
Make Coconut Cucumber Dressing – 10 min
- Chop the 1 cup cucumbers and mix all the dressing ingredients together (1/2 cup greek non-fat yogurt, 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 lime , 1 tsp white sugar, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 2 tbsps fresh basil, 2 tbsps fresh cilantro, and choppeda few slices of pickled or sweet/sour jalapenos in a bowl and let chill while you finish the prep.
Prepare pork for marinating – 10 min
- Cut 1 pound pork tenderloin in thirds, across the length (see photo in post)
- Cut each third into 4 slices, lengthwise (the opposite way from how you cut it into thirds) to create four rectangular (ish) 1/4" thick slabs from each third.
- Mix 1/4 of the marinade (as mentioned above) w/the pork and refrigerate while you finish prepping the veggies.
Prepare Veggies – marinate and skewer – 20 min, see notes
- Clean and cut 1/2 purple cabbage, and 4 spring (young) onions (or regular onions) into 1/4" (ish) thick slabs.
- Skewer the veggies, by threading through the slabs as per photos. This isn't always easy with raw vegetables, but the flat slabs hold a lot of marinade which makes for a tasty and pretty dish.
- Lay on sheet pan, brush or drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil , then brush both sides with another 1/4 of the marinade. (leave some to brush on the meat and veggies when being grilled).
Make the pork skewers – 5-10 min
- Remove the marinated pork from the fridge and thread 2-4 pieces, lengthwise (for flat skewers of meat) on each skewer, depending on the size of your skewers. Take care to keep the slabs stretched out on the skewers versus bunching the meat up.
Make finish satay sauce (thicken with slurry) – 5 min
- Heat small pan on medium with the other half of the marinade you put aside.
- Once it comes to a low simmer, add the slurry (whisk 1 tsp cornstarch and 2 tbsp water together to form the slurry), and whisk continuously for a few minutes until slightly thickened. Set aside until serving.
Grill the skewers of pork and vegetables – 20 min
- Heat outside bbq grill to high, and lay the veggie skewers on hot grill. Brush with more marinade, and close grill cover. Cook 5 minutes, then turn and repeat. The veggie skewers will cook a bit more – see next step.
- Once veggies have cooked 10 min, move to edges and grill pork skewers, 5 min per side. Since there is no oil in the marinade I recommend wiping the grill with oil, or brush a bit of oil on the pork before laying to grill. As with the veggies, brush the remaining marinade on the pork as you cook it.
- Serve up with the cucumber dressing and satay sauce drizzled over the top of the dish and/or served on the side. Add cooked rice to the plates if you are super hungry!
