Peanut Satay Fried Wontons, Sprout & Cucumber Salad

When I asked Justin what he wanted for dinner, he said "something with peanut sauce oh and fish and chips (vegan versions of course) sounds good too"
What?!
So that's what I had to work with-
and since I couldn't come up with any other bright ideas, I decided to go with his suggestions and see what I could do with it.
Here I decided to make tofu satay with vegetables and peanut sauce, stuff it in a wonton wrapper and then dip it in some crispy batter and fry them. So you get peanut Thai flavors packed inside a tiny package with the same batter a traditional fish and chips dish would call for. Feel free to substitute the club soda with beer for the batter. The peanut sauce is used in three different places in this dish; inside the wonton, as a dipping sauce and thinned down with some fresh lime juice and dressed with the sprout salad.

Red bell pepper, scallions and tofu marinated in ginger, shallot and tamari, tossed with a coconut-lime peanut sauce and fried in a light airy shell. Served with a crisp salad of bean sprouts, cucumber, carrot, bell pepper and avocado.

Peanut Satay Wontons
2 tbl tamari
1 tbl sesame oil
2 tsp cumin
1 garlic clove
1 shallot clove
1-1/2" piece of fresh ginger
8 oz extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into small cubes
1/2 red pepper, minced
2 scallions, minced
wonton wrappers

Peanut Sauce
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup natural unsweetened peanut butter
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 tsp curry powder
2 tbl organic light brown sugar
juice from 1/2 a lime
1 tbl canola oil
2 tbl tamari
pinch of cayenne pepper

Batter
2 cups ap flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups club soda
canola oil for frying

Combine the tamari, sesame oil and cumin in a bowl. Use a microplane or box grater to grate the ginger, shallow and ginger into the tamari mixture. Toss in the tofu, red pepper and scallions. Let marinate for 1-2 hours and up to 8.

Combine all of the peanut sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend until completely smooth. Combine 1/2 cup peanut sauce with the tofu and toss to combine.

Lay out the wonton wrappers on a counter top. Wet the edges with water. Fill each wrapper with a heaping teaspoon of filling. Fold over to create a triangle and press to seal the edges.

Combine the batter ingredients. It should be the consistency of thin pancake batter. Preheat the oil to 375. Dip the wontons in the batter and drop into the oil to fry. Remove when golden brown and drain on a paper towel. Sprinkle with sea salt.

Portion out another 1/2 cup of the sauce for dipping and use the remaining 1/3 cup for dressing on the sprout salad.

Sprout Cucumber Salad
1/3 cup Coconut Lime peanut sauce
Juice of 1/2 a lime
1 english cucumber, shredded
2 cups bean sprouts
1 carrot, shredded
1 orange bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 scallions, sliced on the bias
1 avocado, sliced thinly
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
2 tbl black or white sesame seeds

Combine the peanut sauce and lime juice and taste to adjust seasonings, adding more salt if necessary.
Put the shredded cucumber in a kitchen towel or paper towel, twist and drain off excess water.
Combine with the sprouts, carrot, bell pepper and scallions. Toss with dressing. Garnish with avocado, cilantro and black sesame seeds.