Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

Preparing the chicken and the marinade

1. We made chicken satay with dark meat that was trimmed of membranes and fat: boneless thighs. You can buy very convenient meat “sets” of fresh chicken that has never been frozen. Make sure you have bamboo skewers at home in advance. They are sold in packs of 50-100.

2. Prepare the meat: trim off any remaining fat and cartilage, and remove small pieces that are hard to thread onto skewers.

   

3. Make the marinade. Mix all the dry ingredients in a cup or small bowl. For 1 kg of chicken we used 0.5 tsp of ground coriander, 1.5 tbsp of brown sugar (20 g) (regular sugar works too) and one heaping teaspoon of ground turmeric (5 g). Turmeric is a must in the marinade, because it gives the meat the beautiful yellow color typical of chicken satay.

   

   Add the garlic, 1-2 cloves is enough. Don’t grate it, there will be too much juice. It is better to put it through a press. Add a little salt and ground hot pepper to taste, but make the dish slightly spicy. The marinade has no acid, and lemongrass paste replaces it very well, so add 1 tbsp. We also added 1 tbsp of yellow curry paste (17 g). Both pastes are sold in stores. Add 2 tbsp of sesame oil and stir the marinade well. Sesame oil gives a pleasant taste and aroma, but you can use another vegetable oil.

   

4. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Satay kebabs are miniature, so the pieces should not be big. Try to make them roughly the same size and shape, so they are easy to thread onto the bamboo skewers. All the chicken scraps can go to the neighborhood cats, which earns you their respect and love. Tested many times. Add the prepared marinade to the chicken and mix gently.

   

5. Cover the container with the meat with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1-1.5 hours. Chicken usually marinates quickly. Which, by the way, makes it a great option for a picnic.

   The marinade can be adjusted to your taste. Onion, a little soy sauce, ginger and citrus juice all work well in it, and citrus can stand in for the lemongrass. Coconut milk is a common addition.

   

Peanut sauce for satay

1. This is a fairly thick paste made from roasted, unsalted, shelled peanuts. It is the most common version and turns up almost everywhere. What goes into it depends on the region, the tradition and even the mood.

2. While the chicken marinates, make the peanut paste. We added onion and garlic, plus half a fresh chili. I admit we added more chili afterwards, and the sauce came out slightly spicy and pleasant. Add a little more ground coriander to taste.

   

   Put the peanuts and pieces of peeled onion, chili and garlic in a blender. Grind as finely as possible, but so that you can still feel bits of peanut. Add 2 tbsp of sesame (20 g) or any vegetable oil and blend again. If the paste sticks to the sides of the blender, add boiled water. In the end the paste should look like thick honey.

   

4. Warm the paste in a skillet: put in 1 tbsp of lemongrass paste (17 g), heat it over medium heat and add all the peanut paste. You don’t need to add any fat, since peanuts have plenty. The sauce is fairly high in calories. As the mixture heats, keep adding water, because the paste absorbs moisture well. Add dried chili to taste. We did, and it came out great.

   

5. Pour in 1 tbsp of light soy sauce. It is salty, so there is no need to add more salt. To darken the sauce, add 1 tsp of dark soy sauce, which darkens a dish even in small amounts and improves the flavor. Add 1 tbsp of sugar (14 g), stir, and let the sauce simmer for 1-2 mins over low heat. After that the peanut sauce should cool.

   

Grilling the chicken kebabs

1. The distinctive feature of satay is the asymmetrical threading onto the skewers, which makes it easy to recognize. In our stores you can always buy bamboo skewers with a pointed tip. They are 20 cm long and round, about 3 mm in diameter.

2. Thread several pieces of marinated chicken onto each skewer, usually 4-5 pieces. Place them from the middle of the stick toward the pointed end, leaving the other end free. Think of a sparkler, it looks something like that. Each stick holds 60-80 g of meat. That is enough to figure on three kebabs per person, 200-250 g in total.

   

3. Grill the kebabs on a grill, either electric or over hot coals. A grill pan won’t work here. Sometimes you can find special miniature electric grills. The heat must be very high. The seared surface of the meat keeps the juices in, so the dish comes out juicy with a browned crust.

   

   Chicken cooks quickly. Grill the kebabs, turning often, until the meat is done on all sides. I noticed that the surface of the chicken barely burns while cooking. My total grilling time was about 10 mins. It depends on the thickness of the pieces, since thicker ones need more time. To check, cut into the thickest piece slightly: the meat inside should be white, with no pink.

   

Serving

1. In Asia, kebabs are usually served on leaves, especially street food. It looks beautiful and cool. A serving comes with several skewers. Depending on the size of the pieces, there may be about ten. In restaurants and at home they are served on ordinary plates.

2. Put the skewers on a plate. Often a few green leaves go on the bottom, with the skewers laid on top. Pour the peanut sauce into a small cup or sauce dish and set it right on the plate.

   

   You don’t need cutlery. The kebabs are easy to eat holding the stick in your hand and dipping the meat in the sauce. The meat should be hot: when it cools it toughens, and reheating takes away its appeal. It is a dish in its own right, served without a side. Add a slice of lime to the plate, which in my taste is the best addition of all.