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.
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.
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!
@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.
excellent
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.
HI Donna,
Thanks for letting me know. So glad that they liked it.
May
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.
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.