Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Grilled skewered chicken marinated in turmeric and coriander, served with rich peanut sauce.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Soy, Peanut. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: Satay varies sharply by region — Madura-style (used here) leans thick, sweet, and peanut-heavy with kecap manis; Sate Padang uses a yellow, curry-spiced gravy with no peanuts at all; and Malaysian satay tends toward a thinner, more tamarind-forward peanut sauce without kecap manis, since sweet soy sauce is a distinctly Indonesian pantry staple. Satay's origin point is Java, but it's since been embraced as a national dish across Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand too, each with its own regional take.
Ingredients
- 600g chicken thigh, cubed
- 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1cm galangal (grated), 1 stalk lemongrass (white part, minced), 1 tbsp kecap manis, 1 tbsp oil, salt to taste (marinade)
- 3/4 cup roasted peanuts, ground
- 2 candlenuts
- 1 clove garlic, 1-2 red chilies, 1 shallot (for sauce base)
- 2 tbsp kecap manis
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1 tbsp tamarind juice
- Water, to thin
- Bamboo skewers, soaked
Steps
- Marinate chicken in garlic, turmeric, coriander, galangal, lemongrass, kecap manis, oil, and salt for at least 30 minutes (longer improves flavor).
- Thread chicken onto skewers.
- For the sauce, blend garlic, chili, shallot, and candlenuts, then fry in a little oil until fragrant.
- Add ground peanuts, palm sugar, coconut milk, kecap manis, and tamarind juice; simmer until thickened, thinning with a little water if needed.
- Grill skewers over hot coals or a grill pan, turning often, 8-10 minutes until charred and cooked through.
- Serve skewers with warm peanut sauce for dipping.