Now that the weather is warmer, it's time to dust off the grill and make some Malaysian satay.
Last week, we learned the basics of spicy Malaysian food and we also talked about ordering Malaysian food at a restaurant. This time out, as promised, here's my father's satay recipe. I remember him squatting over his Hibachi grill with some palm fronds. As the marinated beef sizzled, dad would swat away the flies and the smoke. He watched the skewers carefully so as not to overcook the meat.
The fragrant wafts of satay meat over a grill is unbeatable if you follow my father's recipe. The key is to marinate the meat for a long time, at least overnight and perhaps even up to three days. Also remember to slice the meat thinly. Too many places serve sub-par satay with massive chunks of meat on a skewer.
If you enjoy grilling, tryout my Thai Steak recipe and for veggies, check out Asian Holiday Salads, Green Papaya Salad and Chayote and Jicama dishes.
True satay uses slender slices allowing for the spices to fully tenderize the meat and to imbue it with deep flavours. Enjoy!
S.K.'s MALAYSIAN SATAY
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. meat- chicken, beef or pork
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 cup shallots
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 inch piece turmeric root
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- about 35 bamboo sticks
Method:
Cut meat into small thin pieces.
Grind together until very fine: shallots, garlic, coriander seeds, cumin seeds & turmeric.
Combine ground spices with salt & sugar.
Season meat with the ground spices and let marinate.
When you are ready to grill soak the bamboo sticks in water so they won't burn, skewer the meat with the sticks, don't overcrowd.
Grill satay sticks over a charcoal fire (barbecue grill), basting occasionally with evaporated milk combined with oil. Or, for the brush, use the head of lemon grass, smash and flatten to resemble a brush.
PEANUT SAUCE
Ingredients:
- 8 dried chillies (soaked until soft). Remove the seeds if you do not like it too hot.
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 cup shallots
- 4 candle-nuts or substitute with macadamia nuts.
- 1/4 cup cooking oil
- 1 cup peanuts (finely ground)
- 1/4 cup thin tamarind juice ( get the tamarind paste, add a little warm water and squeeze the juice, strain)
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk diluted with 1 cup water.
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- salt to taste
Method:
Grind together until very fine: chillies, garlic, shallots & candle-nuts.
In a wok or saucepan, fry ground ingredients in hot oil for 5 minutes.
Stir in ground peanuts and tamarind juice.
Bring to the boil.
Add diluted milk and salt to taste and bring to the boil again.
Serve with satay.
Naturally, if you're completely exhausted by all this preparation, go ahead an buy a bottle of peanut sauce at your Asian grocer. You have my permission.
