Inspired by the Netherlands’ historical Indonesian connection, satay has become a Dutch eetcafe classic. Here’s how to make yours at home – recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia. Makes 2-4 skewers.
Ingredients:
- For the marinade
- 450 grams chicken thighs – cubed
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 stalk lemongrass – peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic – peeled and roughly chopped
- half an onion – peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric
- half tsp ground coriander
- half tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sugar or honey
- 4 small wooden skewers (soaked in water) or 2 long metal skewers
- For the sauce (makes extra!)
- 8 dried red chilies, seeded and soaked in warm water
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 onion, peeled
- 1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 3
- thumb-sized piece of galangal or ginger, peeled
- 50 ml oil
- 150 grams dry roasted peanuts, unsalted
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 250 ml water
- 1 tbsp Kecap Manis
- half tsp salt or to taste
- 1 tbsp sugar (preferably palm sugar) or to taste
Method:
- Blend all the ingredients for the marinade into a smooth paste. Coat the chicken pieces and leave to marinade for 6 hours or overnight.
- To make the sauce, blend the soaked chillies, coriander, garlic, onion, one piece of the lemongrass and galangal (or ginger) into a smooth paste – add a little water if needed.
- Heat the oil and gently fry off the spice paste until fragrant. Add the two remaining pieces of lemongrass (whole).
- Grind up the peanuts very small.
- Add the ground peanuts, tamarind paste, water, kecap manis, sugar and salt, and stir well.
- Reduce the peanut sauce over a low heat for 5-10 minutes until the desired consistency is reached – set aside to keep warm.
- Pre-heat your grill or BBQ to 240 degrees Celsius.
- Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers and grill or BBQ for 10 mins each side until cooked through and slightly charred.
- Serve with fried rice and pickled cucumber slices.
