Malaysian Satay

Every time we have satay, i never have the opportunity to take a picture because it disappeared, devout as soon as they are off the grill. Fortunately, this time, 2 sticks and 2 pieces of cucumber were reserved for me. I was told that the word 'satay' is actually hokkien - 'sa' means three and 'tay' means pieces. That's why there are 3 pieces of meat in a stick.



Ingredients:

600 gm/1 1/3 lb beef , chicken or pork meat

Marinate:

10 small onions / shallots
5 cloves of garlic
2 inch long galanga /lengkuas
2 stalks lemon grass /serai
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp kurma curry powder
1/2 tsp belacan powder(shrimp paste)
A teaspoon tumeric (kunyit)
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil or thick coconut milk

a bundle of 6 inch bamboo skewers

1 lemon grass(serai) - crush

oil/coconut milk for basting

Method:

Using the microplane, grate lengkuas and lemon grass.

Using the food processor, chop up the shallots and garlic. Add in the grated galanga ,lemon grass and the rest of the marinate.

Cut meat into 1/4 inch thick and 4 - 6 inch length.(with this length i will have 2 pieces to a skewer)

Marinate meat with the marinate for at least 2 hours.

Skewer meat with bamboo skewers.

Grill meat and using a crushed lemon grass as a brush, baste meat with oil/coconut milk.

Serve grilled meat with Satay sauce, cucumber and onions. Ketupat or Nasi Impit would be good but i stopped serving them as they are always not consumed and wasted all my effort to make them.

Satay Sauce:

1 lb raw peanuts - soak overnight in water and 2 tsp potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution(for picture of bottle refer to Ban Jian Kuih).

1 packet of Chan Hong Instant Curry Assam Mix(available online at http://mytasteofasia.com/)

1/2 lb roasted peanuts - chopped fine

Drain peanuts and wash away the potassium carbonate & sodium bi-carbonate solution(kan sui)Steep in clean water for 1 hour.

Using the pressure cooker, cook peanuts in water for 15 minutes from hissing.

Remove some liquid (if you have used too much water to cook the peanuts as sauce should be thick ) and use a potato masher, mash the soft peanuts.

Add in the packet of instant mix and bring mixture to the boil.

Add in the roasted chopped peanuts.

Adjust the taste.

Chilly oil or sambal chilly can be added to sauce for additional spiciness.

Serves