Chicken satay recipe

Charcoal-grilled chicken thigh basted with kecap manis, under a sauce of peanuts fried and pounded by hand rather than spooned from a jar.

4 hoursmedium12 ingredients

Ingredients

• 100 ml kecap manis
• 700 g chicken thigh
• 200 g raw peanuts
• 4 shallots
• 4 clove garlic
• 3 candlenut
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 40 g palm sugar
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste
• 2 bird eye chilli
• 1 lime

How to make Chicken satay

1. Fry 200 g raw peanuts in oil until deep gold, drain, cool them and pound them coarse in a mortar: jarred peanut butter gives a smooth paste that is not sate sauce.
2. Cut 700 g boneless chicken thigh into 2 cm cubes, leaving a little fat on each piece.
3. Pound 4 shallots, 4 garlic cloves, 3 candlenuts, 1 tsp ground coriander and 1 tsp turmeric into a paste; mix half of it with 3 tbsp kecap manis and 1 tbsp oil and marinate the chicken at least 3 hours, ideally overnight.
4. Fry the other half of the paste in 2 tbsp oil until fragrant, add the pounded peanuts, 2 crushed bird eye chillies, 40 g palm sugar, 1 tbsp tamarind paste and 250 ml water, simmer 10 minutes to a pourable sauce and adjust with kecap manis and lime juice.
5. Thread 4 pieces onto each soaked bamboo skewer, pushed tight together so the meat stays juicy.
6. Grill over glowing charcoal 3 to 4 minutes a side, basting with a mix of kecap manis and oil: the smoke of the coals is part of the flavour and a pan will not give it.
7. Serve the skewers over the peanut sauce with lime wedges, sliced shallot, cucumber and lontong or steamed rice.

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