Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce (Singapore Style)
Local name: 沙爹
In short: Turmeric and lemongrass marinated chicken skewers grilled until charred, served with a thick peanut and pineapple sauce. It takes about 1 h 10 min in total and makes 6 servings.
- Prep
- 40 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Resting
- 2 h
- Total
- 1 h 10 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Calories
- 520 kcal
Satay is sold at night food stalls across Singapore, cooked over charcoal and sold by the stick. Chicken thigh is marinated in turmeric, lemongrass, galangal and shallots, threaded onto bamboo skewers and basted as it grills. The peanut sauce is cooked slowly with chilies and a little blended pineapple, which makes it sweet, sour and rich. Serve it with cucumber and raw onion to cool each bite.
Instructions
- Blend the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, coriander, cumin, turmeric, sugar, salt and oil into a smooth paste. Mix it through the chicken, cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
- Thread 4 or 5 pieces of chicken onto each soaked skewer, pressing them together snugly.
- Pulse the peanuts in a food processor to coarse crumbs. Blend the chilies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass and pineapple into a paste.
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook the paste for 5 minutes, stirring, until fragrant and darker. Add the peanuts, tamarind, sugar, salt and water.
- Simmer the sauce for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often, until thick and glossy with oil on the surface. Add a little water if it gets too thick.
- Heat a grill or ridged grill pan to medium-high. Cook the skewers for 3 to 4 minutes per side, basting with the oil and sugar mixture, until charred at the edges and the chicken reaches 74°C (165°F).
- Serve hot with the warm peanut sauce, cucumber and red onion.
Tips
- Use chicken thighs, not breast, which dries out on the grill. Beef sirloin or lamb leg work with the same marinade, cooked until the meat reaches at least 63°C (145°F).
- No grill? Cook the skewers under a hot oven broiler, about 15 cm (6 in) from the heat, for 5 to 6 minutes per side.
Questions and answers
Do I need to soak the skewers?
Yes, soak bamboo skewers in water for 30 minutes so the ends do not burn. Metal skewers need no soaking.
Can I freeze satay?
Freeze the raw marinated skewers for up to 2 months and thaw them overnight in the fridge. The peanut sauce freezes for 3 months.
What do you serve with satay?
In Singapore it comes with raw cucumber, red onion and sometimes compressed rice cakes called ketupat. Steamed rice works well too.
How long does it take to make Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce (Singapore Style)?
About 1 h 10 min in total: 40 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking.
How many calories are in Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce (Singapore Style)?
About 520 kcal per serving, with 34 g of protein, 20 g of carbohydrates and 33 g of fat. These values are estimates.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 520 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 34 g |
| Carbohydrates | 20 g |
| Fat | 33 g |
| Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 12 g |
| Sodium | 780 mg |
Estimated values, calculated from the ingredients.
