Satay

The January 2010 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.

Early this month I decided that I wanted to do something different for this year and stray away from Daring Bakers to which I have been an ardent member for more than a year and a half. However I am not totally out of this group yet as I have decided to sign up as a Daring Cook instead. This group concentrates more on cooking rather than baking and it's something which I hope to do more this year. And their past challenges such as dumplings, sushi and vietnamese pho have inspired me a lot. I am really looking forward this new adventure!

When Cuppy posted up that this month's challenge was satay, my immediate thoughts was this would be a breeze. For us Malaysians we have practically grown up with a satay in our mouths (metaphor only ok). In fact satay can be said to be one of our national dishes. It can be found easily along street walks, coffee shops, restaurants and even hotels. Heh I forgot to mention that they now come frozen as well - not that this existed when I was young.

Although Cuppy's original recipe seems more Thai, I have decided to do my own "national" dish version - Malaysian satay. And how is this served? It's accompanied with a peanut sauce, ketupat (which is a Malaysian version of cooked rice cake specially wrapped in coconut leaves) and a side dish of raw sliced cucumbers and red onions. Different types of meat are used in Malaysian satay such as beef, chicken, lamb, mutton and pork (which is only sold by the Chinese satay vendors). The satay is cooked over a charcoal grill and the meat is constantly baste in oil using a lemongrass brush (read below to understand what a "lemongrass brush" is)



Satay

Ingredients for the Satay

1 lb beef [tenderloin, rib eye or flank steak]
1 lb boneless chicken [preferably dark meat]
1 tsp turmeric powder
4 Tbsp sugar
12 shallots **
6 cloves garlic **
1" turmeric root **
1 tsp white peppercorn **
1 tsp coriander seeds **
2 tsp fennel seeds **
2 tsp cumin seeds **
1 tsp belacan

** ingredients to be grounded together finely

Ingredients for Satay Peanut Sauce:

3 candlenuts (This is called buah keras in Malay. If you can't find this, you can substitute with macadamia nuts)
2 Tbsp tamarind pulp
3 cups coconut milk (fresh or canned)
2 cups roasted peanuts, coarsely pounded
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup warm water
3 Tbsp sugar
salt to taste
2-3 med red onions **
6 cloves garlic **
5 Tbsp chili paste **
2 stalks lemongrass, 4 to 6 inch of the ‘white’’ ends only, coarsely chopped **
1 tsp belacan [dried shrimp paste] **

** ingredients to be grounded together finely

Miscellaneous :

2 seedless cucumber, cut into bite-size wedges
2 red onions, cut in bite-size wedges
about 50 bamboo skewers, soaked in water 1 hour (this is to present the skewers from burning whilst on the grill)
4 Tbsp oil combined with 1 tbsp sugar [This is the oil mixture for basting]
1 lemongrass stalk - cut the leaves or blades end straight across. Use a string to tie it into a basting brush [optional]

To Prepare Satay:

1) Using a blender, grind shallots, garlic, turmeric root [or galangal, or ginger], peppercorn, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and belacan into a paste

2) Add turmeric powder and sugar to the paste, and mix well. [This is the satay marinade]

3) Slice beef and chicken into thin long strips, and place into separate containers. To each meat, add half each of the satay marinade, and mix well to evenly coat the strips of meat

4) MARINATE the beef and chicken strips for at least 3-4 hours. Best if marinated overnight [refrigerated]

5) Tread 3 to 5 strips of meat onto each bamboo skewer, leaving 3 to 4 inch bare at the 'handle end'

6) Grill satays on a hot charcoal bbq grill, indoor grill or on a stovetop grill pan until golden brown. Turn and baste often with the sugar and oil mixture, preferably with your homemade 'lemongrass brush'

7) Serve Satay with a small bowl of satay peanut sauce for dipping, and with cucumber and onion slices. Malaysian satay is often served with Ketupat, [a Malay rice cake].



To Prepare Satay Peanut Sauce:

1) Using a mortar & pestle or blender, grind chili paste, onions, garlic, candlenuts, belacan and lemongrass into a paste

2) In a bowl, add warm water to tamarind pulp. Using your fingers, squish and mix the tamarind pulp to extract ‘juice’. Strain to discard seeds and fibers

3) In a saucepan, heat oil, add ground paste, sauté until quite toasted, and oil starts to seep out

4) Add tamarind juice, bring to a boil, add coconut milk, sugar and salt to taste. Bring sauce to boil again, then reduce to slowly simmer for 10 mins

5) Add pounded peanuts, simmer for another 5 to 10 mins, or until the sauce reaches a ‘thickness’ to your liking [Note: Add more coconut milk if sauce becomes too thick, and if sauce is too thin, simmer longer]

6) Serve satay peanut sauce warm, or at room temperature, in a small bowl as an accompaniment for dipping the satays. It is great for dipping the ketupat.

Note: To give Malaysian satay it's 'aromatic’ authenticity, a lemongrass brush is used to baste the satays whilst it is being grilled.