Satay is a very popular dish in Southeast Asia, particularly
Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. It can be prepared using
various meats, including fish, beef, goat and chicken. These are grilled
over wooden charcoals and served with skewers (such as bamboo or coconut
midribs). Turmeric is a compulsory ingredient for preparation of satay.
It gives the meat its characteristic yellow color. This well-known
delicacy is very versatile and has many variants across the world.
Chicken Satay is usually served with peanut
satay sauce.
Ingredients:
˝ teaspoon ground cumin
˝ teaspoon ground fennel seeds
˝ teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1 finely cut onion
2 Garlic cloves
1 Lemon grass (white part) cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon Turmeric
2.5 cm Ginger, peeled and washed
2 tablespoon Sugar
A pinch of Salt
4 boned chicken breasts sliced into 2.5 cm squares
12 Bamboo skewers soaked in water in order to prevent them from
burning on the grill.
1 teaspoon Vegetable oil
1 Cucumber, peeled and chopped
Steps:
The cumin, fennel seeds, coriander, onion, garlic, lemon grass,
turmeric and ginger are ground together to form a thick paste. Sugar
and salt are put in and mixed well. When tasted, the marinade should
be sweet, spicy and salty. However, the best marinade has a
predominance of sweetness and saltiness.
The chicken meat is marinated for at least one hour but
preferably overnight with this mixture.
Start the grill
String three pieces of marinated chicken onto each bamboo
skewer. Do not fill the skewer completely as it will be difficult to
handle during grilling and eating.
Brush the chicken pieces with oil.
Grill on both sides (about five minutes per side). Keep the
skewers at least six inches from the heat in order to avoid burning.
Serving is done with some cucumber and
satay sauce.
Variations of the satay include utilization of ingredients such as
shallots (instead of onion), coconut milk, parsley and maple syrup.
Hundreds of variations can be found in Malaysia alone, where every
street corner has a satay vendor. Some variations include the following:
Satay Madura—made of mutton
Satay Padang—made of cow or goat offal boiled in spicy broth and
then grilled.
Satay Ambal—uses a local breed of poultry with tempeh instead of
peanut sauce.
Satay Tegal—uses the meat of yearlings (5-month old goat kids)
together with sweet soya sauce.
Satay Lilit—originating from the famous island of Bali, this
variant uses many types of meat some of which are very unique (e.g.
turtle meat).
Satay lok-lok—raw meat pieces, tofu pieces, century eggs, quail
eggs, fish cake pieces, offal or vegetable pieces. These are cooked
by dipping in boiling water or sauce.
Satay Ati—made out of liver, gizzard or intestines which are
seasoned and boiled. It is mostly served as a side dish.
Satay Kelinci—made out of rabbit meat.
Satay is often accompanied by coconut-flavored rice,
peanut sauce
and sometimes, chicken dumplings. Its superb original taste is rare
and forms an excellent party food.
