Vegetable Satay With Thai Coconut Yogurt Dressing
Slabs of vegetables are marinated satay style, brushed with the coconut milk based, spice infused marinade while grilling, then topped with a unique coconut cucumber yogurt dressing and satay sauce.
Satay refers to a Southeast Asian style of skewered meat. I’ve loved eating those skewers of meat at Thai restaurants many times because of how the thin slabs hold so much flavorful marinade, so why not create the same deliciousness with vegetables! Aside from taking the time to skewer the slabs of veggies, the recipe is a breeze, and includes two inventive sauces, one used as a side dressing and one used as both a marinade and finishing sauce drizzled over the satay after cooking.
Gorgeous veggie satay with two super sauces
RECIPE RECAP:
~ Reinvent Thai satay using veggies instead of meat. Serve with a coconut curry 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 veggies into slabs and marinate 3. skewer and grill, then drizzle and top with the two sauces.
Farmer’s market vegetables for inspiration only!
Above: In the spring I find young/spring onions frequently in New England. If your area does not sell these types of onions, use regular onions (red or Vidalia are tasty choices) or scallions/green onions. Either choice will be delicious grilled.
Ingredient notes
- Veggies– red cabbage, onions, and portobello mushrooms hold up well on the grill and are what I use this time around. You can sub other veggies that can be cut into slabs and hold up when skewered, such as summer squash, zucchini, even sweet potato.
- 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 (in place of Thai chilis typically used in the marinade part of satay) to the dressing but you can leave it out if you do not want the element of chili 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.
First you mix the marinade ingredients and put 1/2 of it aside to heat on medium heat closer to serving time, and whisk with a cornstarch slurry to create a tasty drizzle sauce. The other half will be used on the vegetables.
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.
Prepare 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 are skewers of just onion and red cabbage and below are skewers that include portobello mushrooms.
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 continuously, in a chill way, no worries here 🙂 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 vegetables and marinade are not very fatty, of course, like meat would be.
Grill the veggies for a few minutes on high with lid closed, then flip, close lid and grill another 5 min or so. Brush both sides of the skewers with the extra marinade as you grill and flip.
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!
Tips for making this recipe
- Make the coconut dressing ahead by a few hours or a full day.
- Make the marinade 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 only have 10 minutes of grilling to do at meal 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 veggies grill for a solid 5 minutes before attempting to move and flip them with tongs, to avoid sticking and breakage.
Related Recipes
- This is the first skewer and grilling recipe I’ve posted but check out my other Vegetarian and Vegan recipes!
- Be sure and try my Cucumber Yogurt Salad with Thai Flavors, based on the yogurt dressing used in this recipe!
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Vegetable Satay With Thai Coconut Yogurt Dressing
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Start CookingKitchen Tools
- 1 outdoor grill, sub indoor grill appliance
Ingredients
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)
- 6 oz portobello mushrooms (1-2 mushrooms)
- 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 cucumber (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 jasmine rice or roasted sweet potatoes.
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 bowl and whisk for a bit to dissolve the sugar.
- Divide the marinade in two. Half is used to marinate the vegetables and brush on vegetables while grilling and half is used to make a finishing sauce to drizzle over the grilled vegetable satay.
Make Coconut Cucumber Dressing – 10 min
- Mix 1 cup cucumber, 1/2 cup greek non-fat yogurt, 1/4 cup coconut , 1 lime , 1 tsp white sugar, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 2 tbsps fresh basil, 2 tbsps fresh cilantro, a few slices of pickled or sweet/sour jalapenos (chopped) together in a bowl and let chill while you finish the prep.
Prepare Veggies – marinate and skewer – 20 min, see notes
- Cut 1/2 purple cabbage into 1/4" (ish) thick slabs. Cut 4 spring (young) onions into 3 lengthwise slabs per onion. Depending on what type of onion you are using, you want to cut across onions to create slabs thick enough to thread onto skewers. Cut the 6 oz portobello mushrooms similarly (or any substitute vegetables you might have chosen).
- Skewer the veggies, by threading through the slabs as per photos. This isn't always easy, but the flat slabs can 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 the marinade, leaving some to brush when the veggies are being grilled.
Make finishing 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 Veggies – 10-15 min
- Clean outside grill if using, and brush grill with oil using a paper towel.
- Heat grill to high, lay the veggie skewers down, brush with more marinade, and close grill cover. Grill for 5-10 minutes, then turn and repeat. They are done when still all dente, but charred and nicely grilled.
- 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!
