Chicken satay is a popular South East Asian dish, consisting of marinated chicken, which is prepared by grilling the skewered pieces of the meat. The dish is then served with sauce, most commonly peanut sauce. The Javanese satay is, however, served with a tempeh based sauce and ketupat, a rice dumpling. The ingredients used for marinating the chicken, and also, the sauce used for accompanying the dish, varies from region to region, each of which are known by different local names. Some popular alternative names for chicken satay are Sate Madura (Indonesia), Satay Ayam (Singapore) and Sate Ambal (Java).
Popular Methods of Making Chicken Satay
Traditional Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce – This recipe suggests combining ginger, garlic, curry powder and yogurt, a mixture in which the chicken strips are marinated and then, refrigerated. The chicken pieces are then skewered and grilled. These satays are lined on a platter bedded with butter lettuce and cilantro and served with a small bowl of Peanut satay sauce.
Pita Chicken Satay – This is yet another variation of this famous South East Asian skewered meat prepared in the same way, only with some additional ingredients like pita bread and black pepper, which aren’t otherwise, used in making chicken satay in the traditional way. For this, the chicken is marinated in a mixture of coconut milk, yogurt, curry powder, salt and pepper, ginger, garlic and lemon juice. The chicken pieces are then, threaded into wooden skewers and broiled or grilled. The pitas are then filled with the cooked chicken, topped with yogurt and cilantro and served with a fruit salad, preferably comprising mandarin oranges, bananas and pineapple.
Thai Chicken Satay – This Thai style chicken satay is prepared by marinating the chicken breast pieces overnight, in a mixture of lime juice, soy sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, garlic, curry powder and hot pepper sauce. The marinated chicken is then skewered and grilled. Some Thai recipes, also suggest the use of gingerroot, yogurt, unsweetened coconut milk, red pepper flakes and green onions for the dish.
Malaysian Chicken Satay – Chicken satay in Malaysia is popularly sold by the road stalls, with Malay rice cake called Ketupat and Satay peanut sauce. In some places, the dish is also served with onions and cucumber too. The chicken is cut into cubes and marinated in a mixture of satay peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, water, turmeric powder or Kunyit, shallot paste, coriander powder, lemon grass and turmeric powder. The marinated chicken pieces are skewered into bamboo sticks and grilled.
The Delia Collection Chicken Satay – This is an elaborate preparation of chicken satay, with a wider range of ingredients than its traditional counterparts. This recipe is taken from Sainsbury’s Magazine in the edition which contained Guide to Poultry and Game Cookery. The dish also appears in The Delia Collection: Chicken. The dish makes use of thin chicken strips, marinated in a mixture of clear honey, Japanese soy sauce, Tabasco sauce, crushed garlic and grated gingerroot. The sauce, which accompanies this satay, is prepared by cooking together shallots, chilies, ginger, garlic, Japanese soy sauce, coriander leaves, light soft brown sugar,lime juice, grated fresh ginger root, red chilies, and roasted peanuts.
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