Join us for our Summer Supper Clubs In Marylebone

Malaysian By May

About Malaysian Food. Travel and Lifestyle

  • Malaysian By May
  • Malaysian Supper Club
    • Supperclub Sample Menu
    • Reviews/Press
  • Cooking Lessons
    • Malaysian Cooking Lesson Gift Vouchers
  • Malaysian Recipes
  • Visit Malaysia
    • Malaysian News
  • Blog
  • About
    • Contact
Home - Malaysian Satay and Satay Sauce

March 13, 2011 By Malaysian Chef 8 Comments

Malaysian Satay and Satay Sauce

190 shares
  • Share
  • Tweet

The next Malaysian by May Supper Club in London is on 29 and 30 July - Book Here!

Welcome Back! Check out the latest dates for our Malaysian By May Supperclubs -29 and 30 July 2018 in London in the sidebar or take a Malaysian Cooking Classes. Do leave a comment to let us know what you think about the recipes.


Satay is Malaysia’s national dish and it is actually quite easy to recreate at home. The Thai and Indonesians have their own version of satay but they are quite different from the Malaysian version.  The Malaysian version is sweeter than the Indonesian version and the recipes seems to have more spices and heavier use of lemongrass and fresh turmeric. Our peanut satay sauce is thicker and richer than that in Thailand or Indonesia. At the end of the day, it is the flavour that you grew up eating that you tend to prefer. This recipe is for our typical Malaysian Satay. The meat needs to be marinated in the spice mix, at least overnight, to achieve the depth of flavour and Satay Sauce is the thing that makes the dish.

In Malaysia, satay is usually served with cucumber wedges, red onion wedges and ketupat which is are compressed rice cakes made in a container made of woven coconut leaves. All these are dipped into the satay sauce.

Kajang in Selangor used to be the place for satay, but nowadays, you can find good satay in lots of places. Just ask the locals for their favourite stall.

Malaysian Satay and Satay Sauce

Note: When you thread the skewers, it might help to wear gloves as the turmeric and spices might stain your hands.

Ingredients

400g Chicken, cut into thin 1 inch strips

400g Beef, cut into thin 1 inch strips and then into 1inch long pieces, which makes it easier for skewereing. You can use any of the more tender cuts of meat like feather, rump or sirloin. Don’t use stewing or chuck steak as that will be too tough.

Satay Meat Marinade

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp turmeric powder

2 tsp ground fennel

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

10 shallots, blend

6 cloves garlic, blend

1 tsp belacan granules

Bamboo skewers soaked in water to prevent burning

Satay Sauce Recipe

8-9 dried chillies, soaked in water

2  stalks lemon grass, lightly bruised

1 thumb sized piece galangal, crushed

3 candlenuts

Blend all the above and combine with

2 tsp belacan granules

1 cup roasted peanuts, crushed to breadcrumbs

1/2 cup tamarind juice, made with soaking assam/ tamarind in warm water and sieved

1 cups water

1/2 cup coconut milk

Salt to taste

1 tbsp sugar or to taste

Method

Blend the garlic and shallots and combine the spices. Then add all the other ingredients.

Marinade the meat in this mixture for at least 2 hours or better if it is left overnight in the fridge.

Skewer the meat onto the bamboo skewers, don’t pack the meat too closely together to enable the satay to cook quickly and evenly.

For the best flavour, cook this over a charcoal grill or alternatively you can just grill it in the oven or on a griddle pan.

Baste the satay with a stalk of lemongrass, that has been bashed to resemble a brush, and oil while grilling.

To make the Satay Sauce:

Fry the blended spices and belacan granules until fragrant. (Probably about 10-12 minutes)

Add the tamarind juice and coconut milk. Add the crushed peanuts. Simmer until the sauce thickens and season to taste. If it is too dry, add a bit more water.

You can make a large batch of the satay sauce and use it as a dressing for the gado gado salad.


Filed Under: Malaysian Food, Recipes Tagged With: ketupat, Malaysian Satay, peanut sauce, satay, satay sauce

Comments

  1. su says

    December 17, 2012 at 2:15 am

    Thanks for the satay recipe. I’m Malaysian living in Sydney and this is the closest to the real thing I have come across and believe me, I have tried MANY, MANY recipes. The satay marinade is spot on – flavour is there and the sweetness is easily adaptable to individual taste. I haven’t tried the sauce yet. So far I have relied on packaged stuff imported from Malaysia which is foolproof but nothing beats the real thing so I’m going to try making my own sauce too. Thanks again!

    Reply
    • Malaysia Guide says

      December 20, 2012 at 3:46 pm

      @Su Thanks for the kind comments. The KL version of Satay is quite sweet but you can easily adjust to taste. As with all the other recipes on the blog.

      Reply
  2. reg says

    September 27, 2014 at 3:49 pm

    excellent

    Reply
  3. Donna says

    July 15, 2015 at 11:53 pm

    Made this last weekend here in Canada and it was a HUGE HIT. My children are of Malaysian/Canadian descent and we wanted to celebrate their Malaysian heritage with satay, peanut sauce, nasi impit, rendang, roti and curry. WHAT A FEAST thank you for the awesome recipe.

    Reply
    • Malaysia Guide says

      March 29, 2016 at 4:44 pm

      HI Donna,

      Thanks for letting me know. So glad that they liked it.

      May

      Reply
  4. Alvin says

    April 12, 2016 at 5:50 pm

    Hi there…I’m a die hard lover of satay. I have been to Labuan and Kemaman Kuantan. There I tasted the same taste of satay…which I don’t find here in Dubai. The restaurant here that offers satay are totally epic fail, sorry.?
    So I would like to cook by my own. But I have some problem…hope you can help me. Belecan granules, and ground fennel were too difficult to find…any substitute for those? Thanks a lot.

    Reply
    • Malaysia Guide says

      April 15, 2016 at 9:13 am

      Hi Alvin,

      I think you might be able to find Belacan in Dubai. I don’t remember where the shops are but an alternative idea is to ask at the Malaysian restaurant at the Jumeirah Beach Resort. The chef is Malaysian and they have a lot of dishes on the menu that needs belacan. If you ask, they might give you some. If that fails, you can try using fish sauce or the Thai equivalent of belacan, shrimp paste. It doesn’t have quite the same pungency but can work. The spices are very easy to get in Dubai since there is such a big Indian population. I think all the supermarkets will have it or you can go to the spice souk or that side of the Creek. The regular shops there will sell the spices you need.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Follow Me

Twitter Icon

Latest Tweets

Tweets by @MalaysianByMay

Recent Posts

  • Drink Pairings for Spicy Food
  • A diner’s guide to supper clubs in London
  • Nonya Gulai Lemak Nenas – Pineapple Prawn Curry
  • Chinese New Year Malaysian Supperclub London 30, 31 Jan 1 Feb
  • Malaysian Curry Lunch Club at Darjeeling Express
  • 3 June 2018 Malaysian By May Sunday Lunch Club
  • Supperclub Dates May 2017 in Old Street
  • 19 Feb and 20 Feb- Chinese New Year Supperclub Oxford Circus
  • Malaysian By May Pop Up in Old Street 14 November
  • 13 June Summer Menu Malaysian Supperclub in London N7
  • Malaysian Supperclub in Islington N7
  • Want to learn Hokkien? Here’s a mini primer
  • Sunset Supperclub: Malaysian and South East Asian Menu for 25 26 July
  • Which combination of Fridge & Freezer is right for you?
  • Summer Menu at our Malaysian Supperclub
Drink pairing with spicy food

Drink Pairings for Spicy Food

Malaysian Supper Club in London

A diner’s guide to supper clubs in London

Visiting Malaysia

Travel Tips and Places to Eat Penang Malaysia

Things to Eat and Places to See in Penang

Malaysian Recipes

Nonya Gulai Lemak Nenas – Pineapple Prawn Curry

Caramelised Ikan Bilis

Norman Musa’s Beef Rendang

More Recipes

  • Malaysian Supper Club London
  • Malaysian Cooking Lessons London
  • About
  • Blog
  • Social Stream

Handcrafted with on the Genesis Framework

190 shares