Malaysian satay and peanut sauce

Tamara West

Satay is one of the well-known dishes from Malaysia and every family has their own recipe. I find many satay recipes are too sweet for my taste so I have reduced the amount of sugar, but you can add more if you prefer. You can substitute lamb or beef for the chicken, and to achieve the best result I recommend marinating the meat the night before. Makes 22-24 skewers.

Malaysian satay

3	Shallots, coarsely chopped
2 stalks	Lemongrass, white part only, coarsely chopped
4 cloves	Garlic
3 slices	Fresh ginger
800 g	Chicken thighs, cut into strips (Main)
½ tsp	Ground coriander
½ tsp	Ground cumin
¼ tsp	Turmeric powder
2 Tbsp	Brown sugar
1 Tbsp	Oil
1 tsp	Salt
¼	Cucumbers, coarsely chopped
½	Red onions, cut into wedges

Peanut sauce

6	Dried chillies, seeded and soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
2	Shallots, coarsely chopped
2 cloves	Garlic
1 stalk	Lemongrass, white part only, coarsely chopped
2 slices	Galangal
2 slices	Fresh ginger
¼ cup	Vegetable oil
1 tsp	Chilli powder
¼ cup	Peanut butter
2 Tbsp	Tamarind puree, soak 1 Tbsp of tamarind paste in 4 Tbsp hot water to get the puree
2 Tbsp	Palm sugar

Directions

Malaysian satay

1. Blend shallots, lemongrass, garlic and ginger using hand blender or food processor until it becomes a smooth paste.
2. Mix the paste with chicken, coriander, cumin, turmeric, sugar, salt and oil and combine well. Cover with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight.
3. Soak bamboo skewers in water while you are marinating chicken to prevent them from burning.
4. Thread the chicken on to the skewers and brush oil on top.
5. Grill in the oven for couple of minutes on each side or you can use a grill pan or barbecue to cook them.
6. Serve with cucumber, red onion and peanut sauce (below).

Peanut sauce

1. Blend chillies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal and ginger using hand blender or food processor until it becomes a smooth paste. Add oil and mix well.
2. Heat a medium pot and add the paste and chilli powder, cook for 8 -10 minutes until fragrant and colour is slightly darker.
3. Add peanut butter, tamarind puree, palm sugar and a cup of water to the pot and bring to the boil. Stir occasionally.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10-12 minutes until the sauce has thickened and oil is on the surface of the sauce. Season with salt. Serve with satay.

Pantry notes

• Look for tamarind paste and palm sugar in some supermarkets, speciality food stores and Asian grocers.
• Be sure to use only the inner, white part of the lemongrass. The outer leaves are too tough.
• Look for galangal at Asian grocers and farmers' markets. If you can't find it use ginger.
• See theglossaryfor more ingredient notes.