Chicken satay skewers with spicy peanut sauce

Sate ayam

By: Luke Nguyen
From: Street Food Asia
Serves: 4–6 As part o f a shared me al
Photographer: Alan Benson

In search of what they promise is the best satay, some locals send me down a main road. ‘It’s across from the Pertamina Hospital – just look for Sate Ayam Dankambing, on Jalan Kayai Maja, number 21’, they tell me, making it all sound so easy. It isn’t. I have no idea what I am looking for, only that this satay is completely worth any effort. But after I’ve walked about 20 metres, I see the smoke, smell the aromas and know I’ve found my destination. I spy two long charcoal barbecues with guys madly fanning coals. They grab around 20 beautifully threaded satay sticks at a time, submerge them in a dark, sticky marinade, and then put them straight onto the grill. Coals hiss, flames ignite, smoke puffs and the meat quickly cooks to succulent, charred perfection. The sticks are plated with sticky rice cakes, kecap manis, crispy fried shallots and a gorgeous peanut sauce. Customers eat right outside, among the smoke and fumes, sitting on wooden benches and watching the world pass by. I buy a serve of the dainty skewers; they’re not huge. I get a mix of chicken and mutton, their specialities.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
500g	boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 4 x 5 cm pieces

Marinade

Quantity	Ingredient
3	garlic cloves, finely diced
2-3	red asian shallots, thinly sliced
2	red chillies, chopped
1 teaspoon	paprika
1/4 teaspoon	ground white pepper
2 teaspoons	ground coriander
2 teaspoons	ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon	ground cumin
1 teaspoon	vegetable oil
1 tablespoon	shrimp paste
2 tablespoons	light soy sauce
2 tablespoons	kecap manis, (see glossary)

Spicy peanut dipping sauce

Quantity	Ingredient
1 tablespoon	peanut oil
2	garlic cloves, diced
2	red asian shallots, diced
4	bird’s eye chillies, sliced
125g	smooth peanut butter
250ml	light coconut milk
3 tablespoons	kecap manis, (see glossary)
1 tablespoon	worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon	light soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon	sea salt
40g	unsalted roasted peanuts, crushed
1	lime, juiced

Method

Soak 20 bamboo skewers in cold water for 30 minutes.
Heat a wok or saucepan over a medium heat. Add the marinade ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until thickened and reduced. Transfer to a large mixing bowl and leave to cool.
Thread 4–5 pieces of the chicken onto each skewer and place on a deep plate.
Repeat with the remaining chicken and skewers, then pour the marinade over the threaded chicken part of the skewers only. Cover with plastic wrap, transfer to the refrigerator and leave to marinate for 20 minutes.
To make the spicy peanut dipping sauce, heat the peanut oil in a small saucepan over a medium–high heat. Add the garlic, shallot and chilli and sauté for 3 minutes. Now add the peanut butter, coconut milk, kecap manis, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and salt. Reduce the heat and gently simmer for 10 minutes, whisking every few minutes so that the ingredients combine well. Add the crushed peanuts, lime juice and 100 ml water, return to a simmer and cook for a further 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue chargrill to high. Chargrill the chicken skewers for 3 minutes on each side, turning them over and basting them with the reserved marinade every minute.
Transfer to a platter and serve with the spicy peanut dipping sauce.

Tags:: South-East Asian; Asian; Street Food

Chicken satay skewers with spicy peanut sauce

Sate ayam

Ingredients

Marinade

Spicy peanut dipping sauce

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