Hed Chef: Delicious Chicken Satay

As it is Dec 1 today, it is not too early to plan your festive party menu.

There is something satisfying about serving homemade satay. You get to impress your guests and it can also be interesting party conversation.

Better still if your guests are close friends - the type you can rope in to come early and help thread the marinated meat onto the skewers.

Assign one or two friends to slice the onions and cut the cucumbers. This is a true test of friendship.

I chose to use chicken quarters for juicy results.

You can easily find pre-packed ketupat in the supermarket. Just follow the packet's instructions.

Now, the peanut sauce is an important component of the dish, at least to me.

You can have delicious satay but without the sauce, it is not quite complete.

Making your own peanut sauce is really worth the trouble of frying the nuts.

Watch this space next week to find out how to make kupat tahu.

---

FOR SATAY

• 8 boneless chicken quarters (1kg)
• 200g sugar
• 30 bamboo sticks (soaked overnight)
• 3 tbsp coconut oil (or cooking oil)
• 3 red onions, sectioned
• 2 Japanese cucumbers, cut into bite-sized pieces

FOR MARINADE

• 500g shallots
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 stalks of lemongrass (use 5cm of the white root)
• 20g ginger, chopped
• 15g galangal, chopped
• 15g fresh turmeric, chopped
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp salt

METHOD

1. Grind ingredients for marinade.

2. Remove skin off chicken quarters. Slice chicken into bite-sized pieces around 3cm in length.

3. Place chicken meat in a bowl. Add sugar. Mix well. (above)

4. Add marinade and leave to marinate in fridge for three hours.

5. Thread three to four pieces of meat onto each skewer. (above)

6. Line a tray with aluminium foil and place a metal rack in the tray. Brush metal rack with coconut oil.

7. Baste skewered meat with coconut oil and place each stick on metal rack.

8. Grill on medium heat until meat begins to brown. Turn skewers over, baste with remaining marinade and coconut oil. Grill until meat is cooked.

9. Serve with cucumber and red onion.

---

FOR PEANUT SAUCE

• 300g skinless peanuts
• Enough water to cover the peanuts by 2cm
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, bruised
• 2cm-thick piece of galangal
• 3 to 4 tbsp of sambal tumis (fried chilli paste)
• 4 tbsp kecap manis (sweet sauce)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 flat tbsp sugar

METHOD

1. Dry fry peanuts over low heat until slightly browned.

2. In a food processor, coarsely chop the peanuts.

3. Place chopped peanuts in saucepan and add enough water to cover peanuts by 2cm.

4. Add in bruised lemongrass and galangal.

5. Add in three to four tablespoons of fried chilli paste.

6. Add kecap manis.

7. Add sugar and salt.

---

FOR SAMBAL TUMIS

• 100g dried chilli, boiled until softened
• 3 red onions
• 3 garlic cloves
• 40g dried prawns, soaked
• 2 tsp of belacan powder
• 1 tbsp of tamarind pulp
• 80ml water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp cooking oil

METHOD

1. Grind chillies, onion, garlic, dried prawn and belacan powder together.

2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Fry ground chilli mixture over medium low heat until the oil surfaces.

3. Soak tamarind pulp in 80ml of water. Strain. Put aside.

4. Add juice to chilli paste and fry until moisture evaporates. (above)

5. Add sugar and salt and fry.

6. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

7. Store excess in airtight container in fridge.