Recipe: Chicken satay with peanut sauce

800g chicken leg (boneless and skinless) cut into 10mm x 7.5mm strips
3-5 bird's eye chillis, finely chopped
1 tbsp palm sugar
½ cup chicken spice paste
1 pinch salt
satay skewers

1 Combine meat, chillis, palm sugar and spice paste and mix well.

2 Spear four pieces of meat very tightly on a satay skewer, cover and marinate for six hours in a refrigerator.

3 Grill satays over very hot charcoal and baste frequently with basting mix.

Note - to make satay with beef, lamb or pork, follow the directions above but use basic spice paste for pork and lamb and beef spice paste for beef.

Basting mix for grilling
Combine 1 cup of spice paste with 1 cup of coconut oil and mix well.

Peanut Sauce

500g raw peanuts with skin, deep-fried or roasted golden brown
5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
8-10 bird's eye chillis, finely sliced
15g kencur (lesser galangal), washed and sliced
20g palm sugar, chopped
1l coconut milk
4 tbsp sweet soy sauce
2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fried shallot

1 Combine peanuts, garlic, chillis and kencur in a food processor or stone mortar and grind finely.

2 Place ground ingredients in a heavy saucepan together with coconut milk, palm sugar and sweet soy sauce. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the sauce from sticking.

3 Add lime juice and sprinkle with shallots just before serving as a dipping sauce for satay. Season to taste with salt.