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Chicken Satay |
Satay
2 kg chicken thigh fillets, skin removed (keep aside)
bamboo skewers, soaked for 1 hour
Marinade
4 lemongrass stalks, white part only, thinly sliced
2 tbsp minced garlic
10 small red Asian shallots or 2 medium Spanish onions,
peeled and sliced
½ cup brown sugar
3 tsp salt
125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil
2 tbsp ground fennel
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp ground coriander
Satay prep
Cutting the meat for a satay is very difficult to describe
because it’s not a straight slice or dice. What you want to achieve is
something like an elongated triangle that is cut against the grain, no more
than 2 cm wide, 1 cm thick and 3-4 cm long, irregular in shape but similar in
size. Place the chicken pieces in a large zip-lock bag. Add the marinade and
push all the air out of the bag, then seal the bag and massage the meat through
the bag, making sure every piece of meat is coated with the marinade.
Refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Following the length of each piece of meat, thread 3-4
pieces on each soaked bamboo skewer, making sure each piece is sitting flatly.
The end appearance of each skewer will be a thin thread of meat which basically
has 2 flat sides, making the satay easy to turn and cook. Cook the satay
skewers on a preheated charcoal grill or barbecue flat plate for 2-3 minutes or
until the meat is slightly charred and cooked through. For basting mix ½ cup
coconut milk with 2 tbsp vegetable oil and baste on the chicken while grilling,
so your satay is most and not dry…if there is something I hate is dry satay.
I would make the pressed rice first of you are going to add
them to your tray of condiments along with sliced cucumber and chopped Red
Onions.
Pressed Rice
400 g (2 cups) jasmine rice, washed and drained
1 tsp salt
To make the pressed rice, combine the rice, salt and 1 litre
of water in a saucepan and bring to the boil over medium heat. Simmer for 10
minutes, then cover and simmer on medium heat for another 10 minutes. Turn the
heat off and stand, covered, for another 15 minutes. Note that the rice is
deliberately mushy, so it can be pressed easily. Spread the rice evenly into a
foil-lined, 20 cm square baking tin, cover with foil, then press with an oven
mitt to compress the rice evenly. Allow to cool completely to room temperature
before cutting into 2 cm cubes.
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Satay Sauce |
Peanut sauce
20 long dried red chillies
1 tsp ginger
2 stalks lemongrass, inner white part only, thinly sliced
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup chopped shallots or onions
200 ml vegetable oil
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt, plus extra to taste
500 g, roasted and salted peanuts (I buy the planters dry
roasted ones) processed in a food processor.
Break the dried chillies in half and shake out the seeds.
Place them in a small saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then
simmer over low heat for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover and stand for
15 minutes. Place the chillies and soaking water, galangal, lemongrass, garlic
and shallots in a blender and process until smooth. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a medium-large heavy based saucepan over
medium heat. Add the blended spice paste, then cook, stirring continuously to
prevent the bottom from catching and cook for 5-8 minutes or until there is very
little steam rising from the sauce. At this stage, the oil will have split from
the spice paste, caramelising into a lovely dark red and developing a beautiful
fragrance. Add 1 litre of water and bring to the boil. Add the tamarind, sugar,
salt and crushed peanuts. Bring to boil again, then remove from heat and set
aside until required.
You can make a double batch of the satay sauce because you
can use the same sauce for the gado gado.
Gado gado is a salad with a satay sauce dressing and
blanched vegetables, so the choice is up to you what vegetable you want to use.
If available I would use long beans (French beans as
substitute), bean sprouts, julienned carrots and cucumber, boiled potatoes
(diced) and boiled eggs (cut into halves per serving), blanched kangkung (or water hyacinth is a nice leafy green
addition), English spinach could be a substitute.
Note :
If you are not pressed for time. you can try cooking the peanut sauce in a slow cooker to reduce the constant stirring. You can saute your spice paste on the stove top and then transfer to the slow cooker...use the auto setting and add the blended roasted peanuts when the soup starts to simmer....leave for 4 hours. You can tell the sauce is ready when the oil is split and starts to appear on the top layer of the sauce.