Chicken satay
Ready in 1 hour plus marinating time. Serves 4. Gluten free.
For this quantity of chicken you’ll need 30 bamboo skewers; soak them in water for 30 minutes to prevent them burning. This recipe makes about 30 sticks.
Ingredients
Chicken marinade
1 lemongrass stalk (white part only), finely chopped
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 tsp caster sugar
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp each ground fennel and turmeric
Chicken & to serve
600g chicken thigh meat, skin on, cut into 3cm pieces
Coconut oil or peanut oil, for brushing
1 Lebanese cucumber, cut into chunks or sliced
1 red onion, cut into thin wedges
Satay sauce
4 shallots, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 lemongrass stalks (white part only), finely chopped
10 long dried chillies, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes, drained, coarsely chopped
30g piece galangal, coarsely chopped
30g ginger, coarsely chopped
½ cinnamon quill
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground fennel
1 tsp ground chilli
½ tsp belacan* (optional; see Cook’s Note)
50g tamarind pulp, soaked in 250ml hot water
100ml vegetable oil
250ml coconut milk
2 Tbsp dark palm sugar, or to taste (use brown sugar if you can’t find palm sugar)
1 Tbsp kecap manis
300g raw peanuts, roasted and crushed
Cook’s Note
Belacan, a shrimp paste, is available from Asian food stores.
For chicken marinade, process lemongrass and shallots in a blender, add remaining ingredients and process to a fine paste.
Combine chicken with marinade in a non-reactive container and refrigerate for flavours to infuse (4-6 hours or preferably overnight).
For the satay sauce, combine shallots, garlic, lemongrass, soaked chillies, galangal, ginger, spices and belacan in a food processor and blend to a paste (2-3 minutes). Set aside.
Squeeze soaked tamarind pulp over a sieve placed over a bowl, then press through sieve, reserving the liquid and discarding the solids.
Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add satay mixture and sauté until fragrant (4-5 minutes). Add tamarind water and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally.
Add coconut milk and bring to the boil over low-medium heat, stirring continuously (4-5 minutes).
Add sugar, kecap manis, half the peanuts and salt to taste, and simmer over low-medium heat until sauce thickens (3-4 minutes). If sauce is too thick, thin it down with a little water. Just before serving, add remaining peanuts.
Thread 3-4 chicken pieces onto each skewer.
Heat a chargrill or barbecue to high and grill chicken skewers, brushing constantly with oil, until chicken is slightly charred on the outside and just cooked inside (4-6 minutes). Serve chicken skewers with room-temperature satay sauce, sliced cucumber and wedges of onion.