Satay

Satay is a very popular delicacy in Indonesia,Singapore and Malaysia; Indonesia’s diverse ethnic groups’ culinary art have produced a wide variety of satays.

In Indonesia, satay can be obtained from a travelling satay vendor, from a street-side tent-restaurant, in an upper-class restaurant, or during traditional celebration feasts.

In Malaysia, satay is a popular dish - especially during celebrations - and can be found throughout the country. A close analogue in Japan is yakitori, shish kebab from Turkey, chuanr from China and sosatie from South Africa are also similar to satay.

It had since been a famous local delight favored by asians as well as foreigners.
Satay is often served with Ketupat, [a Malay rice cake],with a special dipping sauce made from peanuts.

Let's get ready with the following

1 large red onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
3 stalks lemon grass, chopped
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
salt and black pepper to taste
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - pounded thin
12 wooden or bamboo skewers

1.In a large nonreactive bowl, stir together the onion, garlic, lemon grass, soy sauce, peanut oil,turmeric, brown sugar, cumin, ginger, salt, and pepper.
Mix the chicken breasts into the remaining marinade, stir to coat well, and marinate in refrigerator overnight.

Reserve about 2 tablespoons of marinade in a small bowl, and refrigerate until cooking time.

2.About 30 minutes before serving, soak the skewers in water. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil the grate.
3.Remove the chicken breasts from the bowl, and discard the used marinade. Cut each chicken breast on the diagonal into 6 long strips, and thread a chicken strip onto one of the soaked skewers. Grill the skewers, turning frequently and basting with the reserved marinade, until the chicken is cooked through with brown, crispy edges, 5 to 8 minutes per skewer

Using other Meat
For beef, slice beef into thin slices and tenderize with a fork. Trim away any fat and gristle. Marinate, slice, and thread onto skewers as for chicken.

For pork use boned fat-trimmed pork butt (shoulder)Rinse pork. Slice into thin strips (1/8 in. thick; if pork is difficult to slice thinly, freeze just until firm, 20 to 30 minutes)before marinating in 2 tbsp minced shallots,2 tbsp Asian fish sauce (nuoc mam or nam pla),1 tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar and 1 1/2 tsp fresh-ground pepper



The Satay Peanuts Sauce
•3 candlenuts [buah keras in Malay] [Substitute: macadamia nuts]
•2 tbsp tamarind pulp
•3 cups coconut milk
•2 cups roasted peanuts, coarsely pounded
•½ cup peanut oil, or vegetable oil
•¾ cup warm water
•3 tbsp sugar
•salt
•2-3 med red onions
•6 cloves garlic
•5 tbsp chili paste
•2 stalks lemongrass, 4 to 6 inch of the ‘white’’ ends only, coarsely chopped
•1 tsp belacan, also spelt belachan or blacan [dried shrimp paste]

Using a mortar & pestle or blender, grind chili paste, onions, garlic, candlenuts, belacan and lemongrass into a paste

In a bowl, add warm water to tamarind pulp. Using your fingers, squish and mix the tamarind pulp to extract ‘juice’. Strain to discard seeds and fibers

In a saucepan, heat oil, add ground paste, sauté until quite toasted, and oil starts to seep out

Add tamarind juice, bring to a boil, add coconut milk, sugar and salt to taste. Bring sauce to boil again, then reduce to slowly simmer for 10 mins

Add pounded peanuts, simmer for another 5 to 10 mins, or until the sauce reaches a ‘thickness’ to your liking [Note: Add more coconut milk if sauce becomes too thick, and if sauce is too thin, simmer longer]

Serve satay peanut sauce warm, or at room temperature, in a small bowl as an accompaniment for dipping the satays. It is great for dipping Ketupat, [a Malay rice cake], often served with satay

Serve Satay with a small bowl of satay peanut sauce for dipping, and the cucumber & onion wedges on the side.